GUWAHATI, Nov 28 - Dismissing the possibilities of any pre-poll alliance with the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) today counter alleged that it was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which is trying to use money power to divide the minority (Muslim) vote bank ahead of the Assembly polls.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here today, APCC president Anjan Dutta alleged that it is the saffron party which is trying to strike a deal with the AIUDF under which the latter would have to field candidates in all the 126 constituencies against the Congress.
�From what I have come to know from my political sources, it is a Rs 150-crore offer. The BJP, I am told, are ready to pay a whopping amount of Rs 150 crore if the AIUDF agrees to its proposal. I am not sure whether the AIUDF had accepted or rejected the proposal,� the APCC chief told media persons.
�By way of fielding AIUDF candidates in all the constituencies, the BJP must be trying to divide the Muslim vote bank,� he asserted.
Dutta opined that the BJP might enter into an electoral understanding with the AIUDF, like it has done in Jammu & Kashmir (with the PDP) irrespective of contrary ideologies.
�As far as the Congress is concerned, we have not approached the AIUDF for any kind of alliance as has been alleged by the BJP,� he said, adding, �Neither the AICC, nor the APCC is aware of any such offer�.
On the possibility of post-poll alliance, the APCC said that equations could change if parties decide to stand united against communal forces.
Replying to a question, Dutta said that the Congress continues to enjoy a strong foothold in Upper Assam and this time their seats in Lower Assam too will increase.
The APCC president also took potshots at BJP national president Amit Shah and the State leadership, accusing them of misleading the people of Assam and not identifying with the ground reality and the cause of the people of Assam.
