Addressing an election rally in the tea rich town Tinsukia she said that, "Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is heading a coalition government in the centre now. Though there are some limitations of the coalition government in working for the benefit of the people. It has provided more than twice the help to Assam then the previous NDA government had provided to the state."

On the illegal migrants issue, she said that the UPA govt had taken special care so that no genuine Indian citizen could be harassed in the wake of the scrapping of the IM(DT) Act.

''The Congress is not with the infiltrators but it would also not allow the harassment of genuine Indian citizens. All screening must be done through tribunals, she said.

Recalling the recent police firing in the Kakopathar in the Tinskia district in which ten agitators were killed, Gandhi said,"In the last few days certain incidents have taken place which has hurt me. The state government has given help to the affected people. Though the loss of lives cannot be fulfilled but at least the minimum help can be given to them."

Polls in Asom are being held in two phases on April 3 and 10 respectively.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to make a two-day visit from April 1 for the second phase of polling addressing meetings at Nalbari and Sualkuchi of lower Asom, besides addressing a press conference in Guwahati on the day of his arrival.

The next day he would campaign at Dongkamokam in Karbi Anglong district and Tezpur in the north bank before flying out to Delhi.

The battle lines for the polls are already drawn with the Congress taking on the AGP, even as other parties are trying to influence the electoral balance and have their own say in government formation. There are a number of kingmakers doing the rounds ahead of the elections.

Illegal influx of Bangladeshis into Assam tops the campaign issue for opposition Asom Gana Parishad and BJP for the forthcoming assembly polls in the state with ruling Congress trying hard to underplay it.

Political parties are also focussing their attention on the insurgency issue in their bid to capture the votebank. The 27-year-old Asom insurgency problem is also at the top of the agendas of all political parties. By Peter Alex Todd (ANI)