Gogoi Cong's CM candidate

GUWAHATI, April 29: It's official now. State Congress president Tarun Gogoi will be the party's Chief Ministerial candidate if the party is in a position to form the next government in the State after the May 10 polls. The announcement to this effect was made by the general secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) Kamal Nath during a news conference here this afternoon. Gogoi, currently an MP, was also present during the announcement. "Under the leadership of Tarun Gogoi, the Congress will give a government to Assam which will make the future of the youths of Assam secure", Nath said. The party is "extremely confident" of forming the next government in the State. "The Congress will get more than two-thirds majority. Congress may also hit the three figure mark," the AICC leader stated. Claiming that the contest in the ensuing elections will not be merely between political parties, Nath said that the contest will be between corruption and communalism represented by the AGP-BJP combine and the youth and development of Assam represented by the Congress. Clearly addressing the youth of the State, Nath said during the term of the outgoing AGP-led Government, the youths of Assam have got a raw deal. "The AGP Government's five-year rule reflects a saga of corruption where everything had a price-tag. It was a price-tag government." he stated. Similarly, while asserting that there was no question of the party allying with anybody. After the polls, Nath said that the only support that his party would seek was that of the youths. Lambasting the AGP-BJP alliance, Nath said that the BJP had allied with the AGP merely to consolidate its position while the AGP had embraced the BJP to secure itself against "exposure and indictment". The people of the State have seen through their game and will give a fitting reply, he claimed. Gogoi, speaking at the press meet, said that AGP Chief Prafulla Kumar Mahanta had joined hands with the BJP purely for personal interests. He said that the AGP-BJP tie-up was aimed at preventing an alternative government from assuming power here. "The people of Assam will not allow this," he stated, going on to claim that the Congress was the only party that could provide a better government. Nath also announced that Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi would arrive in Assam tomorrow for a one-day visit during which she will address rallies at Tinsukia, Jorhat, Diphu and Tezpur. She will come again on May 7, he said. Meanwhile, Gogoi said that he was not satisfied with the security cover being given to his party candidates in the run-up to the polls. "We want more security to be given to our candidates," he said. Asked whether his government, if it comes to power, would institute probes into allegations of corruption being levelled against the present regime, Gogoi said that it may be done if necessary. "But there will be no witch-hunt," he assured.