The BJP and its ally the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) on Sunday won a comfortable 58 seats out of the 60 wards in the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC), while the Congress drew a blank in the civic body election. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the regional Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) won a seat each.
The GMC polls were held on April 21 after nine years. A press release Sunday from the Assam State Election Commission said that the BJP won 52 seats (including three uncontested winners), the AGP six and the AJP and AAP one each.
Following the results, Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the people of Guwahati for the “resounding mandate.”
“Thank you Guwahati! The people of this lovely city have given a resounding mandate to @BJP4Assam to build on the agenda of development. They have also blessed the hardwork of the state government under CM @himantabiswa. My gratitude to every BJP Karyakarta for the hardwork” he tweeted.
Thank you Guwahati! The people of this lovely city have given a resounding mandate to @BJP4Assam to build on the agenda of development. They have also blessed the hardwork of the state government under CM @himantabiswa. My gratitude to every BJP Karyakarta for the hardwork.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 24, 2022
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the victory was a result of Modi’s “vision and robust development initiatives” in the northeast. “I bow my head to the people of Guwahati for giving @BJP4Assam & its allies a historic win in #GMCElections. With this massive mandate, people have reaffirmed their faith on our development journey under the guidance of Adarniya PM Shri @narendramodi ji” he tweeted.
I bow my head to the people of Guwahati for giving @BJP4Assam & its allies a historic win in #GMCElections.
With this massive mandate, people have reaffirmed their faith on our development journey under the guidance of Adarniya PM Shri @narendramodi ji.@JPNadda @BJP4India pic.twitter.com/AWZ5mqIhc3
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) April 24, 2022
The public of Assam is with us at all levels, whether it is the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, Assembly or municipal elections,” BJP Assam president Bhabesh Kalita told reporters, adding that the Congress was “over” and that not much should be read into the one-seat victories by the AAP and AJP.
Assam Congress President Bhupen Borah told reporters that the party had hopes of winning, “but we suppose that the public believes that since the BJP is going to be in power for four more years in the state, they might as well vote for it in the civic polls too. While the BJP is doing well now, our time will come soon.”
Meanwhile, both the AAP and AJP celebrated their maiden victories. AAP’s Masuma Begum won ward number 42, (Hatigaon) while AJP’s Hukum Chand Ali Bakshi won in ward number 1 (Garigaon).
“For our first election, this is a big win for a party which has no footprint in the state,” said Rajesh Sharma, AAP’s national council member and the leader in charge of its affairs in Assam. “In some wards, we are in second position. The BJP’s organisational machinery was in its full force, the party had its Cabinet ministers and the chief minister campaigning… despite that, we have performed very well. Our next step is to further expand our organisation at the grassroots,” he said. Last month, the AAP had won two civic seats in Tinsukia and Dhemaji.
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AJP’s Lurinjyoti Gogoi said that winning even one out of the 25 wards they contested was “satisfactory” for a small party. “For us, it is a tough fight. We cannot compete with the organisational strength of the BJP or even the AAP for that matter. This is a good start for us,” he said.
