NEW DELHI, Jan 10 Yet another Congress delegation, this time representing the PCC has landed in the capital to register their objection to the possible poll tie-up with AUDF. This is despite being snubbed by AUDF president, Badruddin Ajmal, ruling out any possibility of having any truck with Congress.

A 25-member delegation led by Wajed Ali Choudhury has travelled from Assam to press the Party High Command to avoid any alliance with AUDF. The delegation is the third from Assam Congress to take up the issue. Last week, the Congress Minority Cell met the party leadership on the same issue.

Sources said that the series of visits to by Congressmen to Delhi has more to do with individual fears of loosing seats. Most of the Congress delegates fear they may loose their seat, if the Congress forges an alliance with AUDF, hence the rush to convey their objection to the High Command, said the Congress leader.

Reacting to the visit by the Congress delegation, Bhubaneswar Kalita told this newspaper over telephone from Assam that the declaration by AUDF that it was not keen either on an alliance or merger with the Congress has made the issue infractuous.

Clarifying further, he disclosed that he along with Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi and general secretary in-charge for Assam, M Veerappa Moily had a meeting with Congress president, Sonia Gandhi recently on the issue.

“The Congress president wanted to know our view on the issue of tie-up with AUDF and we have conveyed that alliance with the party would harm the Congress in many constituencies. We are in favour of a merger with AUDF though,” said Kalita.

“We have made our stand clear that we want merger, not alliance with AUDF,” said the PCC president.

Kalita further conceded that the issue has now become a dead horse, after AUDF’s announcement.

Meanwhile, Kalita said that the process of selection of Lok Sabha candidates is going to start from February. The process would be completed within the same month. “We will start asking for applications in February,” said the PCC president.

As reported earlier, the AICC had already asked the PCC to submit three names for each of the Lok Sabha constituencies.