BJP maintains solid lead in Assam panchayat polls

Assam state election commissioner, Harendra Nath Borah, said counting, which began on Wednesday, was slow as the votes were cast in ballots.
Image used for representational purposes only(File | EPS)
Image used for representational purposes only(File | EPS)

GUWAHATI: The BJP has maintained a solid lead over other political parties, including opposition Congress, in the panchayat elections of Assam.

The State Election Commission on Friday evening partially declared the results. The complete results are likely to be declared late at night.

Assam state election commissioner, Harendra Nath Borah, said counting, which began on Wednesday, was slow as the votes were cast in ballots. The two-phase polls were held on December 5 and 9.

According to him, of the total 21,990 gram panchayat member (GPM) seats, the counting of votes in 17,677 seats was completed. The BJP won 7,540 seats, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP)-1,373 seats, Congress- 5,896 seats, CPI three, CPM-27, CPI-ML-7, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF)-75, Bodoland People’s Front (BPF)-47 and Independents – 2,028.

Out of the 2,199 gram panchayat president (GPP) seats, the results declared were for 1,881 seats. The AGP won 110 seats, BJP-868, Congress-645, CPM-one, AIUDF-106, BPF-two and Independents-150.

Of the total 2199 Anchalik Panchayat Members (APM) seats, results declared were for 1,860 seats. BJP won 883 seats, Congress-645, AGP-96, CPM-one, AIUDF-117 and Independents-124.

Similarly, the results of 347 of the 420 Zila Parishad Members (ZPM) seats were declared. The BJP won 181 seats, Congress-122, AGP-15, AIUDF- 15 and Independents 14.

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal expressed his gratefulness to the people for reposing their faith in the BJP and voting for “development”.

Riding on Narendra Modi wave, the BJP had grabbed 60 of Assam’s 126 seats in the 2016 Assembly elections. By winning the polls, the party opened the gateway to the Northeast as it went on to capture power in several states of the Northeast.

However, in the past year or so, the BJP’s image took a beating in Assam following the Modi government’s bid to get the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 passed in the Parliament.

Seventy organisations, opposition parties and even the AGP, which is an ally of the BJP and constituent in the Sonowal government, staged a series of protests against the controversial Bill which seeks to legitimize the stay of illegal immigrants of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who migrated to India till December 31, 2014.

The protestors said the Assamese identity would be threatened if lakhs of “Hindu Bangladeshis” (Bengali Hindus) were “dumped” in the state through the Bill’s passage. 

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