Guwahati (Assam) [India], May 2 : Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi on Saturday claimed that the Congress-led alliance will win more than 70 seats in the Assam Assembly elections and dismissed the exit poll predictions.
Speaking to reporters in Guwahati, Akhil Gogoi also emphasised securing the strong rooms where the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are kept.
Gogoi said, "We will comfortably form a government and will have 70-plus seats. People of Assam have voted for a change. Let the government do its propaganda. The number of voters is in crores, while the exit poll (sample size) is in thousands. What is the value of their voice?"
In Assam, exit polls predicted that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is poised to retain power for a third successive term. Axis My India projected that the BJP-led NDA would secure 88 to 100 of 126 seats and the Congress-led alliance 24 to 36 seats.
JVC predicted 88-101 seats for the NDA and 23-33 seats for the Congress-led alliance. It gave 0-2 seats to AIUDF and three to others. Matrize projected 85-95 seats for the BJP-led alliance, 25-32 for the Congress-led alliance, and 6-12 seats for others.
When asked about securing strong rooms, the Raijor Dal chief slammed the BJP, saying, "We have to secure strong rooms. The situation in Assam is the same as in Bengal. They diluted (the voter lists) in the SIR, and previously they did delimitation. They will do so, but the people want a change."
Earlier today, Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi also launched a sharp attack on the BJP and the Election Commission, alleging irregularities in the handling of strong rooms and claiming that the ruling party is attempting to "save itself through theft" as it cannot win elections based on its work.
Gogoi claimed that the BJP workers were being allowed inside strong rooms and were present even during polling.
The Congress leader told ANI, "Here in Assam, we are witnessing this across various polling booths: BJP workers are present not only inside the strong rooms but were also present earlier while the voting was still underway. The crucial question is: what exactly is the Election Commission doing? This poses a grave threat to democracy."
He further termed the situation "very dangerous," adding, "We, the opposition parties, are repeatedly raising this issue. And it is clear that the BJP cannot win the elections on the basis of its work. They want to save themselves through theft."
Counting of votes for the Assam elections will be held on May 4. This time around, Congress stitched a six-party alliance, which included the Raijor Dal, to take on the ruling BJP-led NDA in Assam.