AIUDF chief says BJP will attempt horse-trading

All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) Chief Badruddin Ajmal on Friday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is notorious for horse-trading and said that while the party has not yet approached them, he was certain that they would do so in the near future.

"On May 2, we will form the government. Those who have a habit of horse-trading will do so. Till now, BJP has not approached us but it certainly will. The day we form the government, BJP will contact us," said the AIUDF chief while interacting with reporters at Guwahati Airport when he was en route to Jaipur.

Ajmal however said he did not "know how many of our people are travelling out of the state."

With the conclusion of voting in Assam for the assembly polls, the Congress-led Mahajot has shifted some of its candidates to a hotel in Jaipur today as a "precautionary measure against any attempts at poaching". As many as 18 candidates of AIUDF reached Jaipur today and several Congress candidates are scheduled to reach the city in the next few days.

The Mahajot includes Congress, AIUDF and eight other parties and it is seeking to oust the BJP-led government from power in the state.

Congress General Secretary Randeep Surjewala said the move was an attempt to prevent any sabotage of the electoral mandate.

"This act can be viewed as a step towards prevention and a precaution against any sabotage of numbers in the state," Surjewala told .

The three-phased assembly election in Assam ended on April 6. Counting of votes will take place on May 2.

( With inputs from ANI )