To prevent a split in the anti-BJP votes, AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal had suggested a Bihar-like grand alliance of non-BJP parties.
Abdul Hekim, a 49-year-old timber merchant in Rupohi -- barely 150 km from Guwahati -- has been a staunch supporter of perfume king Badruddin Ajmal's All India United Democratic Front or AIUDF. But ahead of the assembly polls in Assam, he is ready to shift his political loyalty.
"None can become Chief Minister from their party. That's why I will support a Congress candidate," said Hekim.
"We made the mistake of supporting AIUDF but won't repeat the mistake this time," added 70-year-old Mohammed Gul Mamud, who claims his extended family has 40 members.
With 34% Muslim population in Assam, at least 40 of the 126 seats are Muslim majority seats. In 2011, AIUDF - the most popular party among Bengali Muslims -- won nearly half of these. But this time, with a surge in BJP's popularity, many like Hekim argue that only the Congress can stop the BJP.
A little distance from the Rupohi main market, Abu Bakr, an 82-year-old betel nut grower, sounded candid. The BJP, he firmly believes, will raise the foreigner issue to target Muslim settlers. "If you are in power, how can you keep some people and target some others?" said the old man. "We have got nothing from the Congress, but we will vote for them."
To prevent a split in the anti-BJP votes, Mr Ajmal had suggested a Bihar-like grand alliance of non-BJP parties. But the Congress didn't agree. Any pre-poll alliance with Mr Ajmal, Congress leaders argued, will cost them Upper Assam, where 56 seats are at stake.
Mr Ajmal's party is virtually non-existent there and the BJP is vying for the votes of the tea workers and key ethnic groups like the Ahoms.
"There is no question of any alliance with Mr Ajmal. The Congress never believes in religious polarisation of the voters," said Pawan Singh Ghatowar, former Union minister and now the chief of Congress' campaign committee. "As far as a post-poll understanding is concerned, our party will decide," he added.
The AIUDF denies charges of religious polarisation. The Ajmal Foundation, the party points out, has donated Rs 60 lakh to the Batadraba shrine, the birthplace of the 15th Century Vaishnavite saint Mahapurush Sankardev.
The BJP, too, is making the pitch of 'inclusive politics. From holding meetings in minority areas in lower Assam to stitching up alliances with various tribal groups, the party is trying hard to break into Congress strongholds.
"We will protect every genuine Indian citizen," said Union Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, the BJP's chief ministerial face in Assam. "Our task is to protect the interest of the greater Assamese society -- Assamese, Marwaris, Biharis, Nepalis, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and all those who have been living in Assam for centuries," he said.