The Asom Gana Parishad and the Communist Party of India on Friday took the lead in hammering out an anti-Congress bloc comprising seven political parties having a common goal to keep Congress out of power once the election results are out on May 11.

The other five parties in the bloc are Communist Party of India-Marxist, Autonomous State Demand Committee based in the two hill districts, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Gana Parishad and Bodoland People's Progressive Front faction led by former student leader Rabiram Narzary.

In a meeting held in Guwahati, leaders of these parties barring those from the CPI-M made a detailed post-poll assessment and had the impression that though the ruling Congress was likely to emerge as the single largest party, it will fall far short of winning a majority with 64 seats in the 126-member assembly.

Hence that decided to form a single political bloc that given the opportunity might stake claim to form the government once the poll results are out.

All of them had contested the just concluded assembly polls on seat-sharing basis sans any formal pre-poll alliance in place.

"We have shared seats and fought the election together and now as the poll results are being awaited, we have decided to remain together in the post-poll scenario," said Brindabon Goswami, the president of the AGP.

During the discussion, the CPI national executive member Promod Gogoi called upon the parties to remain together so that Congress couldn't form the government without having the required number of seats taking advantage of a sharply divided opposition.

"It had happened earlier in the state in 1981 and it shouldn't be allowed to recur this time," he said.

The seven parties have taken care to keep a distance from both the Bharatiya Janata Party and Assam United Democratic Front, the two parties that have been branded communal by Congress before polls.

The AGP president Goswami avoided giving answer to questions about the regional parties' stand vis-�-vis the AUDF that was floated in the wake of scrapping of the IMDT Act to teach Congress a lesson for 'betraying' minorities in Assam.

"We are here to have discussion with only those parties with whom we had seat sharing arrangement before the election," said Goswami, remaining silent on the party's equation with the AUDF. 

The AGP will have to go without the support of the Left parties in case it comes closer to the BJP, driven by the post-poll-power equation.