North-East: BJP Bangs in Assam

Intro: A reason to cheer for BJP in Assam after capturing 38 local bodies in Panchayat polls held on February 9.

After losing Delhi Assembly elections, the results of civic body’s polls in Assam gave a reason to smile for the BJP and their supports. The party won 38 out of 74 local bodies in the state. BJP was not in power in any of the urban bodies last time.
On the results, Assam BJP president Siddhartha Bhattacharyya said, “We are happy to see the results of the civic polls. I hope the people of Assam have accepted the BJP and have realised the misrule of the Congress in Assam over the years”.
In the results declared by the Assam State Election Commission (ASEC), BJP won 340 wards and 38 municipalities (municipal board and town committees); the Congress won 232 wards under 17 municipal bodies and town committees. Regional political party Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) won 39 wards followed by the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) with eight and the Nationalist Congress Party with four wards. The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) won one seat each, while 77 were won by independents.
Ahead of the state assembly polls slated for early next year, the civic polls was seen as a semi-final for the political parties. The results show that the Congress government is facing anti-incumbency and that the winds now are in favour of BJP. n