Itanagar, Aug. 10: Alarmed at the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)’s bid to pose a challenge to the ruling Congress in Arunachal Pradesh, the AICC has rushed its general secretary and Arunachal in-charge, V. Narayanaswamy, to oversee party affairs in the state which will go to the polls in October.

Narayanaswamy, who is also the Union minister of state for parliamentary affairs and planning, arrived on a three-day visit to Aru-nachal Pradesh on Saturday to monitor the poll preparedness and soothe frayed nerves over the issuance of tickets to the aspirants within the party.

Addressing the media today, he spoke about the AICC’s move to crack the whip on “dissident” partymen, particularly MLAs, who defied party diktat in recent times. He also scotched rumours that the NCP would cash in on the internal feud within the Congress.

“I am here to oversee the poll preparedness of my party with the Assembly polls just two months away in the state. The party high command gave me a free hand to handle dissidence so that the party’s prospects to win the polls do not receive a setback. The party would not hesitate to act tough on MLAs who worked against the party. We will never allow any party — be it the NCP or any other — to derive mileage because of a rift within our camp,” Narayana-swamy said.

He said the NCP, which has been making claims that this election would see the end of the Congress’s “hegemony” in the 60-member Assembly, would not be able to put up a fight given the organisational strength of the ruling party.

The AICC leader refuted the NCP’s claim that it has gained ground with the support from disgruntled Congress members in the state.

“A party like the NCP does not have any mass base here in Arunachal Pradesh and is not in a position to topple the ruling Congress government nor form a government in the state. Though NCP general secretary P.A. Sangma recently expressed his party’s keenness to go for post-poll alliance with the Congress in the state, we do not need such an alliance as the Congress will go it alone in Assembly polls,” Narayanaswamy added.

He indicated that party would give priority to youth and women when it comes selecting candidates. He said loyalty, ability to win and merit will be taken into consideration and no nepotism and favouritism will be entertained.

Mentioning different meetings held at Khonsa and Kanubari in the troubled Tirap district during his visit yesterday afternoon, he said he had urged the misguided youths of these areas to shun the path of violence.

Narayanaswamy expressed the hope that the Congress would retain all 60 seats in Assembly polls.