“We Expect Two-Thirds Majority”: Dilip Saikia Sounds Confident as BJP Prepares for Silchar’s First Civic Poll

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will finalise its candidates for the first Silchar Municipal Corporation election following a series of meetings in Guwahati, state BJP president Dilip Saikia said on Sunday (September 6).

Addressing a press conference at the BJP office in Itkhola, Silchar, Saikia said the party’s Election Committee and Management Committee will meet in Guwahati on Monday (September 7) to discuss the candidate selection. The final list of candidates is expected to be released on Tuesday (September 8).

The Silchar Municipal Corporation election is scheduled to be held on October 3, with voting taking place across all 42 wards.

Saikia said the BJP is confident of securing a two-thirds majority in the 42-member corporation. He said the party has been preparing for the election and has held several meetings with its workers and local leadership over the past three days.

The BJP state president said candidates for the 42 wards will be selected on September 8 and 9. He also indicated that the BJP could have local seat-level arrangements with the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) in some wards. However, he clarified that such an arrangement, if made, would be limited to the local level.

Saikia said the BJP is preparing a campaign focused on development and civic services. One of the key proposals he highlighted was a “One City, One Digital Platform” for Silchar. According to Saikia, the proposed digital system would allow residents to access several municipal services from their homes instead of having to visit the municipal corporation office.

He said services such as applications for trade licences, building permissions and certificates, as well as tax-related services, could be made available online. He also said online forms for such services should be provided free of cost.

Saikia also spoke about Silchar’s drainage system and the recurring problem of artificial flooding in the city. He said the party has plans for both short-term and long-term solutions, which he described as scientific and sustainable.

The BJP also announced the joining of several former Trinamool Congress (TMC) functionaries during the programme. TMC’s Cachar district president Rajesh Deb, along with around 40 other party functionaries, joined the BJP in the presence of Saikia and other senior leaders. Saikia claimed that the development meant the TMC had effectively ceased to have an organisational presence in Silchar and Barak Valley.

He also referred to Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev’s recent move to the BJP. Although Dev is now a Rajya Sabha MP from West Bengal, Saikia said she would continue to work for Assam and Barak Valley and would be regarded as a BJP worker from Assam.

The BJP has stepped up its preparations as it seeks to win control of the newly formed Silchar Municipal Corporation in its first election. Saikia has been camping in Silchar for the past three days along with Assam BJP organisational secretary G Rabindra Raju and senior Cachar BJP leaders. The leadership has held several meetings with party workers as part of its election preparations.

Saikia said the BJP expects voters to judge the party on the basis of the development work carried out by the BJP-led government.

The press conference was attended by minister Kaushik Rai, Rajya Sabha MPs Parimal Suklabaidya, Kanad Purkayastha and Sushmita Dev, Cachar BJP president Rupam Saha, and MLAs Rajdeep Roy, Rajdeep Gwala, Kishore Nath and Kamalaksha Dey Purkayastha. Former MLA Dipayan Chakraborty and other senior party leaders were also present.

The first Silchar Municipal Corporation election will be closely watched as the BJP seeks to establish control over the city’s 42 wards and shape the administration of the newly constituted civic body.