Guwahati, Jan. 5: An opinion poll has taken the bottom out of Ulfa’s campaign for a “sovereign Assam”.

As many as 95.53 per cent of the respondents to an opinion poll conducted in nine districts of the state, excluding most of Upper Assam, gave the thumbs down to the militant group’s demand for sovereignty. The results of the poll, conducted by an organisation that includes members of Ulfa activists’ families, were made public today at the District Library in Guwahati.

Assam Public Works, the NGO behind the poll, interviewed 25,64,128 people in Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Sonitpur, Darrang, Dhubri, Bongaigaon, Goalpara, Barpeta and Kamrup (metro) districts. Only 1,14,379 of the respondents, or 4.46 per cent of the total, backed Ulfa’s campaign. Abhijit Sarma, secretary-general of Assam Public Works, said the second phase of the opinion poll would begin in Tinsukia tomorrow. Tinsukia is known to be an Ulfa stronghold.

Citizens who participated in the discussion arranged by the NGO said the outcome of the first phase of the poll was an accurate representation of the state’s views on the “impossible dream” being peddled by the militant group.

Ulfa chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa was quick to dismiss the poll as another “Indian conspiracy” against the state. He accused the central intelligence agency RAW of being the driving force behind repeated attempts by Assam Public Works — formed on November 24, 2000 — to show Ulfa in poor light.

“It is meaningless and unacceptable,” Rajkhowa said in a telephone statement to the media.

The Ulfa leader said there could not be any “plebiscite” on the topic of sovereignty without his group’s consent and the supervision of an international organisation.

At the District Library, participants in the discussion were more than willing to stick their neck out and dismiss Ulfa’s campaign as one that the vast majority had long rejected. Journalist Ranen Goswami said an opinion poll was not required any more to know the people’s views on sovereignty.

“Leave aside the national political parties, none of the regional political parties or influential organisations like the All Assam Students’ Union is endorsing its (Ulfa) demand,” he added.

Writer-journalist Dhirendra Nath Chakravarty accused Ulfa and its “overground” organisations of trying to mislead the people with falsehood.

Sarma made no bones about the fact that the objective of conducting the opinion poll was to mobilise opinion against Ulfa’s “divisive and destructive” agenda.

As speaker after speaker spoke against Ulfa, an unidentified youth climbed the dais and made a short but fiery speech in support of the militant group. He disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.