Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, April 24: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ally, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), dominated the Guwahati municipal corporation polls on Sunday, capturing 58 of the 60 wards.
In Guwahati, Assam’s largest city, and the rest of the northeast, the BJP won 52 seats, while the AGP won six. The state’s ruling party had already won municipal board elections held last month. The opposition Congress, which is the state assembly’s second-largest party after the BJP, did not win a single seat, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) made its debut in Guwahati by gaining one seat. One seat was also won by the Assam Jatiya Party (AJP).
“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,” CM Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted.
Assam BJP head Bhabesh Kalita said the victory was a result of the state government’s good work under Sarma’s leadership. He promised that the party would work to make the city a great place to live with all-around growth.
“I admit we have fared poorly in this election. I assume Guwahati residents have given a last chance to the BJP to do something good. The two main problems in Guwahati are artificial floods and scarcity of drinking water, I hope the BJP will be able to address both,” said Assam Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah.
Notably, in the municipal corporation polls held after a gap of nine years, the BJP had fielded 53 candidates while the AGP contested in 7 seats. The Congress contested in 55 seats and the AAP in 39 wards. The last GMC election was held in 2013, with the Congress winning 19 of the total 31 wards. The BJP candidates won 11 wards, while the AGP won one.
