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BJP sweeps Guwahati municipal elections; Congress draws blank
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) on Sunday swept elections to the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC), winning 58 of the total 60 wards, while the principal opposition party Congress drew a blank
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) on Sunday swept elections to the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC), winning 58 of the total 60 wards, while the principal opposition party Congress drew a blank.
The BJP won 52 seats while the AGP bagged six seats in the biggest northeastern city. The other two seats were shared by debutant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Assam Jatiya Party (AJP), according to the state election commission.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma hailed the party workers and thanked the people of Assam for the massive victory.
“Thank you Guwahati! The people of this lovely city have given a resounding mandate to @BJP4Assam to build on the agenda of development,” Modi tweeted. “They have also blessed the hardwork of the state government under CM @himantabiswa. My gratitude to every BJP Karyakarta for the hardwork.”
Sarma tweeted: “I bow my head to the people of Guwahati for giving BJP and its allies a historic win in GMC elections. With this massive mandate, people have reaffirmed their faith in our development journey under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
Assam BJP chief Bhabesh Kalita said the mandate was reflection of good work done by the state government under Sarma’s leadership.
Bhupen Kumar Borah, state Congress chief, said: “I admit we have fared poorly in this election. I assume Guwahati residents have given a last chance to BJP to do something good. The two main problems in Guwahati are artificial floods and scarcity of drinking water, I hope BJP will be able to address both.”
A total of 200 candidates were in the fray for the municipal corporation elections, which were held on April 22 after a gap of nine years. The BJP had fielded 53 candidates while the AGP contested seven seats. The Congress had fielded its candidates in 55 wards while the AAP contested 39 seats. Three BJP candidates in wards 5, 6 and 22 had won uncontested.
“We have won one seat and opened out account. It’s a big thing for us as people of Guwahati have shown that they value those who work,” said AAP’s state president Bhaben Choudhury. “We had earlier won one ward each in Tinsukia and Lakhimpur municipal polls. This is a good trend for AAP in Assam.”
In March, the BJP had swept the municipal board elections, winning 759 of the total 977 wards. The party and its allies were able to wrest power in 75 of the total 80 municipal boards that went to polls.
