No roads, no water: Villagers in Assam's Sribhumi warn of poll boycott after years of alleged neglect

Nearly 2,000 residents of Sharifnagar Fakirtilla village in Assam’s Sribhumi district have threatened to boycott the polls, alleging years of neglect despite repeatedly backing their former MLA with overwhelming support.

The villagers say that while three-time Congress MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha enjoyed a strong mandate from the erstwhile North Karimganj constituency, the area today stands as a symbol of stalled development and administrative apathy.

Sharifnagar Fakirtilla, which earlier fell under North Karimganj constituency and now comes under South Karimganj following delimitation, lacks basic infrastructure. There are no proper roads. Access to clean drinking water remains a distant dream. During the monsoon, the swelling waters of the Longai river routinely submerge the kutcha roads, cutting off the village from surrounding areas and bringing daily life to a halt.

Schoolchildren struggle to reach classrooms. Daily wage earners find themselves stranded. Medical emergencies become ordeals. With no reliable supply of potable water, residents say they are forced to manage through unsafe or inadequate sources.

What has deepened the resentment, villagers allege, is the perception that their former representative has shifted focus away from their region. After extending support to the BJP government, De Purkayastha has, according to locals, concentrated his efforts over the past two years on strengthening his political prospects and accelerating development works in the Katigorah constituency of Cachar district — leaving his original support base behind.

Feeling abandoned, residents say they were compelled to collect donations among themselves to construct basic village roads — a task they believe should have been undertaken by the government long ago.

“This time we want a capable candidate, irrespective of party,” several villagers said, making it clear that political loyalty would no longer come without accountability.

Their message is blunt: if their long-pending demands for roads and drinking water are not addressed, they will boycott the upcoming Assembly elections.

The brewing anger in Sharifnagar Fakirtilla underscores a larger issue confronting political parties ahead of the polls — development promises versus delivery on the ground. For a village that claims to have stood firmly behind its elected representative for years, the threat of electoral boycott is not merely symbolic; it is a sign of deepening distrust in the political process itself.

Whether the warning prompts immediate action or fades into another election-season headline remains to be seen. But for now, in this corner of Sribhumi district, the ballot is being weighed against basic survival needs.