The Congress party will secure an absolute majority in the assembly polls in Assam, predicted incumbent chief minister Tarun Gogoi today.
Nevertheless, he said, the party would welcome support from others, including the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and present alliance partner, the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF).
Gogoi, CM for the past 10 years, said the party would secure at least 45 seats in the just-concluded first phase of elections, where 62 constituencies went for polls. The party would also perform similarly in the second phase, he said.
“In the last election, we got 35 seats in these areas and this time, we will get 10 more seats,” said a confident Gogoi.
However, Gogoi’s peace offer to AIUDF, besides marking a departure from his earlier stand, is seen as an attempt by the party to keep its hopes realistic in case predictions boomerang. The AIUDF, led by Badruddin Ajmal, is expected to play a dominant role in government formation this time. The party has a good following in Muslim-dominated areas in Assam.
The BPF is a coalition partner in the present government but has not gone for any pre-poll alliance with the Congress, presumably to keep its cards open.
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Further, Gogoi said the Bharatiya Janata Party, which along with the Congress party is contesting all the 126 assembly seats (barring four seats being contested by JD (U), an NDA partner), will be washed out in the polls, particularly from its Barak Valley stronghold.
Surprisingly, Gogoi chose to attack the BJP more than the main opposition party, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), signalling the saffron party was becoming a larger threat for the Congress in Assam.
The BJP has been buoyant in Assam, especially since the last Lok Sabha election, when it won four of the state’s 14 seats. The party, which won 10 seats in the 2006 assembly polls, hopes to play a larger role in state politics this time.
“What had the BJP given to Assam when it was in power (at the Centre, in 1998-2004)? They have no right to seek votes in Assam. This time, they will get the result,” said Gogoi.
He said the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government had given 10 times more projects to the state than the Vajpayee-led NDA government.