'Congress loses even on ballot papers': Himanta hails NDA's Silchar civic polls victory

BJP-led NDA sweeps first Silchar civic polls with 34 seats

NEW DELHI: The ruling BJP-led NDA won the first elections to the Silchar Municipal Corporation on Tuesday, securing 34 of the 42 seats.Reacting to the result, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Congress performs poorly even when elections are held through paper ballots.“See, Congress loses even on paper ballots. In fact, Congress loses even more on paper ballots. That’s why in EVMs, sometimes people go and press NOTA or get panicked seeing the machine and vote in the wrong place. But people are well-practiced in voting on paper ballots. So whenever voting happens on paper ballots, Congress loses even more,” Sarma said.

Polling for the 40 wards was held on October 3, while BJP candidates Bijendra Prasad Singh and Bhakti Sen Talukdar were elected unopposed from wards 9 and 20, respectively.

Counting of votes began at 8 am, with ballot papers used in the elections.Sarma said the verdict reflected the people's faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and his vision for urban governance under the Viksit Bharat initiative."Another day, another win for @BJP4Assam! The people of Silchar have given us a thumping majority in the Silchar Municipal Corporation elections, held through BALLOT PAPER," Sarma said in a post on X.

He thanked the people of Silchar for the “resounding mandate” and reiterated his government's commitment to making the city “one of Assam's foremost cities”.Assam BJP president Dilip Saikia said the results showed that Congress had failed to win public support even in an election conducted through ballot papers."The Congress always complains about EVM tampering, but this election was held through ballot papers, and they are nowhere," he told reporters.The BJP won 32 seats, while its ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) secured two. The Congress won two seats and Independents six, officials said. The BJP has sought recounting in two wards, 29 and 30, where an Independent candidate and a Congress candidate, respectively, emerged victorious. A decision on the demand is yet to be taken, they said.

A total of 133 candidates contested the elections. The BJP fielded candidates in 38 wards, the AGP in four and the Congress in 38, while 52 Independents and one CPI(M) candidate were also in the fray.The Silchar Municipal Board was upgraded to a 42-ward municipal corporation in 2022 and became operational in June 2025. Silchar, the principal city of the Barak Valley, had remained without an elected civic body for six years.Poor road conditions, inadequate drainage, waterlogging, erratic power supply and irregular drinking water supply were among the key issues raised during the campaign.