Sarkar predicts hung house, says Assam wants change

GUWAHATI: Tarun Gogoi may appear confident of the Congress's return to power for the third time in a row, Tripura chief minister thinks Assam is heading towards a hung house.
"No party can get the necessary number to form the government in Dispur. The people of Assam are going to have a hung assembly after the elections," the veteran CPM leader said here on Tuesday.
Sarkar has been campaigning for CPM candidates state since April 1."I have been meeting people across the state for the last four days. What I have realized is that they are thoroughly disappointed with the performance of the Congress. They want a change now," he said.
According to the senior Communist politician and four-time chief minister of Tripura, the Congress should not try to go to the voters with its "inclusive growth" agenda. He claimed that development was restricted to Guwahati alone and has not reached other parts of the state. "The Congress's slogan of inclusive growth' is shallow," Sarkar said.
The CPM politburo member claimed that his party, which is contesting 17 seats in Assam this time, would improve on its 2006 tally. Though he did not say how many seats the CPM was expecting to win in Assam, Sarkar said, "We are hoping for the best as we are fighting against rising corruption, price and unemployment. What I can say is that our party will certainly get more votes in the 2011 elections than what it had got in 2006."
He also did not rule out the CPM's chances of reaching post-poll understandings with other "like-minded" parties to form government in Assam. "We are open to form alliances with national parties, barring the Congress and the BJP, and the regional ones. The Congress has been neck-deep in corruption, while the BJP continues to play the communal card. After a working agreement with like-minded parties on burning issues, we can form a secular government in the state," Sarkar added.
The first of the two-phase assembly elections in the state was held on Monday, while the concluding phase will be held on April 11.