Rain Delays Panchayat Vote Count in Barak Valley, BJP Leads in Cachar ZP Seats

The counting of votes for the recently held panchayat elections is currently underway across the Barak Valley, with tight security. Centres in Cachar, Lakhipur, Sribhumi, and Hailakandi saw a delayed start on Sunday morning due to incessant rainfall.

In Cachar, counting began at 9:00 AM—an hour behind schedule—at the ISBT centre in Ramnagar, Silchar. The delay was attributed to heavy rains that hindered the timely arrival of candidates and their agents. Counting for the Lakhipur constituency, now considered a co-district, is taking place separately at the Lakhipur Block Office.

Out of the 25 Zila Parishad (ZP) seats in the Cachar district, counting for 23 is in progress, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) having already secured two seats uncontested in Lakhipur. As of 11:30 AM, BJP is leading in 19 of the 23 ZP constituencies being counted.

In addition to the ZP seats, counting for 132 Anchalik Panchayat (AP) seats is also underway at the ISBT. Notably, BJP had already claimed 35 AP seats uncontested before the polling.

Meanwhile, in Sribhumi, vote counting is taking place at Sribhumi College and also experienced a delayed start due to the rain. As of 11:30 AM, the first round of counting is still in progress. Hailakandi district is conducting its counting process at SS College, where rainfall also pushed back the beginning of the count.

Polling across Cachar, Sribhumi, and Hailakandi was held on Friday, May 2. Following reports of booth capturing and irregularities, repolling was conducted in 31 booths of Hailakandi and 8 booths in Sribhumi on Sunday, May 4.