Congress under poaching fear in Assam, resorts to resort tactics

Apprehending poaching by BJP, the Congress has booked a few hotels across Assam. The Congress leaders on Saturday met at a hotel in Guwahati for a closed-door meeting with their candidates.

Qouting party sources, an NDTV report said that the party has been planning to keep the candidates somewhere in Guwahati, Tezpur and Kaziranga on April 22.

However, AICC General Secretary and the party's Assam in-charge Jitendra Singh dismissed the reports of hotel bookings and claimed that the "Mahajot (grand alliance) would secure a big majority in the 126-member assembly".

"Our candidates are not going anywhere. We just gave them some directions to the party candidates for the preparations of counting days because of past experiences," said Mr Singh.

At least two Congress allies - Bodoland People's Front (BPF) and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) - had earlier shifted their candidates out of state amid fears of poaching. However, after a week's stay in the Congress-ruled Rajasthan, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) candidates has returned to Assam on Friday after the Covid-19 cases were rising in the west Indian state.

The AIUDF is a partner of the 10-party "Mahajot".

Assam, where the BJP came to power in the 2016 election, voted for a new government in three phases between March 27 and April 6. The results are due on May 2 along with those for polls in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry.

(with inputs from agencies)