E. P – There are apprehensions that the number of MP seats of the Congress will go down to half in these upcoming elections. What are your comments?

B. K – In the last Lok Sabha elections, we fought for 14 seats and won 9. This time we are contesting for 13 seats and one seat is left for our allies, i.e, BPF. We are hopeful of winning all 13 seats but we are confident of winning at least 9 to10.

E. P – Which are the 3 or 4 seats which Congress might loose?

B. K – No, there is no seat in Assam where the defeat of the Congress is certain. We are fighting for 13 seats and we are hopeful of winning all these but there may be 3 or 4 seats which we may win or loose by a very small margin.

E. P – What is your view on the AGP – BJP alliance and what is its impact on the Congress?

B. K – The alliance between the AJP and the BJP is not based on any ideology and is founded on a difference of political thoughts, agendas and different perceptions and thus it is not going to have any impact on the people. This alliance has only come about to fight the elections. Unfortunately, the alliance, at the grassroots level does not appear to be visible. Just think about this, the AGP which was alleged to be responsible for killing Hindi sponsible for killing Hindi speaking people in the region is today standing alongside the BJP and asking the people to vote from Hindi speaking people. This alliance is not going to benefit either the AJP or the BJP. Neither will it be a cause of loss for the Congress.

E. P – You mean to say that the AGP was responsible for killing Hindi speaking people in Assam?

B. K – Yes, that is the allegation and perception.

E. P – The Congress minister Mr. Hemanta Biswa Sharma has alleged that the AGP has taken 8 crores from the BJP in return for seats for the latter. Do you believe that this allegation is true?

B. K – Yes, I think so. As I said, their agendas are not the same, their ideologies are different. Their workers would never have accepted such an alliance. As such, there must have been such a deal otherwise the alliance would never have come about.        

E. P – In these elections, is the AUDF is likely to affect the Congress?

B. K – In the Legislative Assembly elections and Panchayat elections, the Congress won overwhelming victories in spite of the anti – government propaganda used by the AUDF. We have our workers in the minority community as well as well wishers. This time around too, we will come out in the fray with flying colours as the minority is with us.

E. P – Will the Third Front be a headache for the Congress?

B. K – No, there is no existence of the Third Front in Assam. They had tried and they had failed. Look at Silchar, Barpeta and other places, which are the cases in which the AUDF and the CPM are both contesting each other.

E. P – AUDF has fielded the Beltola incident victim, Lakshmi Orang as a candidate to attract Adivasi votes. Will this new equation create an impact on the political scenario in Assam?

B. K – AUDF is nothing but a political drama. It has no concerns for the welfare of the Adivasi people whereas the Congress has been working for their welfare for a long time now and the Adivasi people know this.

E. P – It has been alleged that Chef Minister Tarun Gogoi has collected donations from the tea companies. Is this not in violation of the election code of conduct?

B. K – Companies, big or small, has a budget for political donations. They do make donations for political parties which are duly reflected in the balance sheets. This is not illegal in any manner and is not in violation of the election code of conduct apparently.

E. P – Is the Chief Minister responsible for the collection of donations and should this responsibility not be shouldered by some other minister?

B. K – Who is the leader of the Congress party in Assam? Isn’t it Mr. Tarun Gogoi and is there anyone placed higher than him within the Congress party in Assam at the moment. In this case, he has collected the donations as the leader of the Congress party and not as the Chief Minister of Assam.     

E. P – The NCP leaders of Meghalaya are alleging that Assam ministers are interfering in the political affairs of Meghalaya. Can you comment on this?

B. K – I have no comments regarding this subject.

E. P – Opposition parties are apprehensive that the EVMs are going to be tampered with and misused in the upcoming elections. What are your thoughts on this?

B. K – The opposition parties should know that EVMs are provided by the central Election Commission and are operated under the strict supervision of the Election Commission. Hence, their apprehensions are not well founded.

E. P – What is the election agenda of the Congress party?

B. K – We will go to the people with national as well as regional issues. We will highlight all the good work that has been done by our government in Assam so far. The rightful implementation of the Assam Accord, border fencing erection work in Assam and updating for national registration of citizens will also be brought before the people as will the Congress initiatives to curb terrorism with an iron hand. You see, we have had talks with the different units of the ULFA and we are trying very hard to bring them to the mainstream. We have received good response in this issue. Education, employment, health and other basic amenities which were developed during the Congress regime will also be brought before the people.

This time around too, we will come out of the fray with flying colours as the minority is with us.