The Congress party-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is likely to form the government at the centre for the second straight term, while violence could rock the northeastern state of Assam by the year end, according to a forecast by a highly regarded Assamese almanac.
"The stars favour the Congress party and so we believe the UPA would once again come to power," Pulin Chandra Dev, editor of Kalpurush Panjika, a calendar based on the movement of planets and stars.
The Kalpurush Panjika, a mass circulation astrological calendar in Assam that entered its 26th year of publication, was released Tuesday.
"In Assam also, the Congress is expected to do well in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections mainly due to the clean image of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi," Dev told IANS, quoting from the calendar.
The Kalpurush Panjika gave something to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to cheer about in Assam although its alliance with the regional Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) could be fraught with danger.
"The BJP's influence in Assam would increase although its alliance with the AGP might not get the desired results as the tie up could probably split. But surely the alliance would gain marginally during the elections," the Kalpurush Panjika said.
{{/usCountry}}"The BJP's influence in Assam would increase although its alliance with the AGP might not get the desired results as the tie up could probably split. But surely the alliance would gain marginally during the elections," the Kalpurush Panjika said.
{{/usCountry}}Mention was also made of possible violence of high magnitude in Assam sometime later this year or early next year.
"Some big violence or explosions could take place either by December this year or sometime around January 2010," Dev said.