Huge win for BJP-AGP combine in Assam panchayat polls, declares Himanta Biswa Sarma
The chief minister said the data from the state’s 27 districts where elections were held indicated that the BJP and AGP have won most seats
GUWAHATI: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) have secured a massive win in the panchayat election held this month.
The chief minister said the data from the state’s 27 districts where elections were held indicated that the BJP and AGP have won most seats in the zila parishads and anchalik panchayats.
‘The state election commission is yet to announce the final results. But based on official data submitted by deputy commissioners of each district, this is what we have concluded as the outcome of the panchayat polls. The official results could vary slightly,” Sarma told a news conference in Guwahati.
Flanked by BJP state chief Dilip Saikia, the chief minister said the AGP and BJP secured wins in 300 of the total 397 zila parishad seats. The BJP won 272 seats while its ally won 28, which was 76.22% of the total zila panchayat seats in the state.
“There were 2,192 total anchalik panchayat seats. Of these, BJP and AGP won 1,436 seats together (BJP-1,265, AGP-171), which is 66% of the total seats,” he said. The chief minister added that the Congress secured 72 zila panchayat seats (around 18% of the total) and 21% of the 2,192 anchalik panchayat seats.
“In the last panchayat election (in 2018), BJP and AGP secured wins in 55% seats, and we bagged 231 seats in zila parishads. In contrast, Congress won 35% zila parishad seats in 2018 and this time it got reduced to just 18%,” the CM said.
He added that in anchalik panchayats, BJP and AGP bagged around 52% seats in 2018, which increased to 66% this time. The Congress won 35% anchalik panchayat seats in the last election, which came down to 21% this time.
Sarma said while the BJP managed to win some seats in minority-dominated areas, the Congress had failed to win a single seat in Hindu-majority constituencies across the state.
“This election showed that BJP was able to retain its position in areas where we are strong while making inroads into places where we didn’t have much support earlier. The BJP wasn’t expecting such a good outcome in this panchayat election especially in some districts where we secured wins in all seats,” he said.
