AGP aiming for a grand alliance

Guwahati, Jul 3 (UNI) With the general elections getting nearer the Asom Gana Parishad, the state's main opposition party, is trying to cobble together a grand alliance.

After meeting the BJP top leadership, the AGP last night met the Assam United Democratic Front(AUDF) which has a strong Muslim base.

The meeting took place at the party legislature office late last night where the AGP was represented by its working president Phani Bhusan Chouhdhuy and the AUDF by its president Badaruddin Ajmal.

''The AGP's broad aim is to defeat the Congress by bringing together all the parties. The AGP is trying to have a broad seat sharing arrangement with both the BJP as well as the AUDF. We are buyoant about it,'' Mr Choudhury later told newsmen.

''Our idea is to minimise vote division. The Congress always rules because of vote division,'' he said.

However, the AUDF has put a spanner in AGP's plans by saying it will not have any truck with the party if the AGP goes along with the BJP.

The AUDF clarified that so far no official stand was taken with the BJP.

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