Guwahati, Feb. 29: Former AGP minister Durga Das Boro today joined the ruling Congress, a development which came on a day talks of a possible BJP-AGP poll alliance peaked.

Chief minister Tarun Gogoi and PCC president Anjan Dutta welcomed the one-time MLA and a known face in the television and sports arena to the party fold at a packed function held at Rajiv Bhawan here this evening. Others to join the ruling party included BJP's Kisan Morcha general secretary Sanjib Dutta, AGP member Nitumoni Dutta and former Indian Forest Service officer Chittaranjan Bhobora whose father was an MLA in the fifties. All of them said they joined the Congress because they believed in the ideology and policy of the Congress which is pro-poor.

Boro, who quit the AGP last night, said only Congress can challenge the divisive policy of the BJP and that he was ready to take on BPF chief Hagrama Mohilary from today. Like Mohilary, the one-time AGP legislator (1985-91) is also a Bodo and is likely to be fielded by the Congress from Paneri constituency in BTAD's Udalguri district. Everything remaining equal, he could become the face of the Congress in the BTAD, insiders said.

Dutta, an engineer, described his former party as a big zero and a party of yojanas. Both Gogoi and Dutta took the opportunity to run down the BJP and AGP. Dutta said the BJP was trying to achieve its Mission 84 in the ensuing Assembly polls by tying up with AGP and other parties, moves which reflected its real strength.

Gogoi reminded the gathering how the AGP and BJP were allegedly behind secret killings and how the BJP had allegedly ignored Assam before the Assembly polls by not announcing anything specific for the state. "Just imagine what will happen after the polls," Gogoi said while flaying the Centre for controversy involving Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Senior leaders of both the state BJP and AGP are in Delhi to discuss pre-poll alliance, something which the AGP has denied so far.