The BJP won 32 of the 42 wards in the first Silchar Municipal Corporation election. Voting was held on October 3 in 40 wards. Two BJP candidates had already been elected unopposed. Results were declared after recounts in some wards.

The Congress won only two wards, numbered 30 and 41. The Asom Gana Parishad won two wards. Independent candidates won six wards. The Congress had attacked the BJP over the use of ballot papers in the polls.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma taunted the Congress after the results. He said the opposition had lost despite voting being held on ballot paper. The BJP called it a vote of trust in the state government’s work.

Silchar is one of Assam’s largest cities. This was its first election as a municipal corporation. The BJP’s big win gives it full control of the new civic body. The party will now elect the city’s first mayor.