"Before people go to polling booths they should have a clear idea on what the Congress will do after the elections," he told mediapersons at the Raj Bhavan here.

The electorate have failed to understand the party's stand on coalition thanks to the contradictory statements made by Sonia Gandhi on Congress favouring coalition at Centre, he said.

On Article 356 also, the NDA's star campaigner felt the continued silence of the Congress party was intriguing and said it was obvious that it did not accept "the modest recommendations" of the Sarkaria Commission.

Alleging that nothing had caused more damage to harmonious Centre-state relations and the country's democratic fabric than the reckless dismissal of Opposition-ruled state governments by the Congress during its long tenure at the Centre, Vajpayee saidthe Congress leadership had refused to clarify its stand on the matter.

In a bid to put an end to the ongoing smear campaign of personal attacks between Congress and BJP leaders, Vajpayee expressed hope that the "tasteless campaign" would come to a stop.

Reacting strongly to a comment made against him and his adopted family by Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, Vajpayee said he had never encountered such personal attacks in his four decades of political life.

"I had interacted closely with congress members in the days of Pandit Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi but never had any one indulged in such character assination despite differences," he lamented.