‘Congress loses even with ballot papers’: Himanta Biswa Sarma after Silchar civic poll results

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on October 6 took a swipe at the Congress after the BJP-led NDA secured a majority in the first Silchar Municipal Corporation election, saying the opposition party “loses even with ballot papers”.

“The Congress loses even with ballot papers; in fact, the Congress loses by an even wider margin with ballot papers,” Sarma said in Guwahati.

The BJP-led NDA won 34 of the 42 seats in the Silchar Municipal Corporation, with the BJP securing 32 and its ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) winning two. The Congress won two seats, while Independents secured six.

Polling for the civic body was held on October 3 using ballot papers. The BJP has sought recounting in two wards — Ward 29, won by an Independent candidate, and Ward 30, where the Congress emerged victorious.

The results marked the first elected civic body for Silchar since the town was upgraded to a municipal corporation in 2022.