"I have been saying all along that Assam voters are quiet knowledgeable and politically conscious and would never go by what was being projected in newspapers and TV channels here," Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told IANS.

The press in Assam, barring a few, had predicted a landslide victory for the AGP, saying the alleged corruption and lack of development would lead to a Congress'' debacle.

A popular TV channel here showed an exit poll predicting a sweeping victory for AGP.

The Congress, however, won 52 seats.

The party was all set to form a government with support from its tribal ally, the Mohilary faction of the Bodo People''s Progressive Front (BPPF-H) that won seven seats.

Though the strength of the assembly is 126, the figure required to form the government came down to 63 instead of 64 with Badruddin Ajmal, president of the newly formed Asom United Democratic Front, winning two seats.

"In reality we might require the support of just a few others to form the government which is not at all difficult," Gogoi said.