Silchar municipal corporation election voting began on Saturday across 40 wards, marking the first civic poll since the erstwhile Silchar Municipal Board was upgraded to a corporation and restoring an elected urban body after nearly six years.
Polling is scheduled from 7.30 am to 4 pm, with 2,70,772 electors eligible to vote. The electorate includes 1,29,877 men, 1,40,884 women and 11 third-gender voters. Authorities have established 316 polling stations across the corporation area, while polling personnel and election materials reached their designated locations on Friday.
The election has 133 candidates in the fray, including 52 Independents. BJP candidates Bijendra Prasad Singh and Bhakti Sen Talukder have already been elected unopposed from Wards 9 and 20. The BJP has fielded candidates in 38 wards and the AGP in four, while Congress candidates are contesting 38 wards. The final field also includes one CPM candidate.
The contest is primarily between the ruling BJP-AGP alliance and Congress, although Independents and rebel candidates could influence several ward-level contests. The BJP entered polling day with two seats secured, but its campaign was affected by internal dissent. The party expelled 16 Cachar workers days before voting over alleged indiscipline and anti-party activities.
Civic infrastructure has been the central issue in the campaign. Residents have raised complaints about damaged roads, inadequate drainage, waterlogging, irregular drinking-water supply, erratic power and waste-management problems. Heavy rain on the final day of campaigning left several stretches waterlogged, bringing drainage capacity back into focus.
The BJP’s campaign document, titled “Sankalp Patra”, promises a city master plan, a centralised Jal Board, measures to address waterlogging, uninterrupted drinking-water supply, improved roads and footpaths, street lights, public toilets and steps towards a garbage-free city. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma gave the party’s campaign its final major push at a rally on Wednesday, where he announced a special Rs 1-crore fund for every ward won by the BJP and promised a separate annual allocation if the party controls the corporation. He also said Silchar’s roads would be restored within a year and that he would personally monitor the corporation’s functioning.
Congress has focused its campaign on unresolved civic problems and accountability in urban governance. The party has also accused the ruling party of violating the Model Code of Conduct through development announcements. The supplied report does not indicate any adjudication of that allegation.
The corporation was notified by the state government in November 2022 and became operational in June 2025. Although it has 42 wards, the election is being held across 40 wards because two candidates have been elected unopposed. The state government has declared Saturday a public holiday in the Silchar Municipal Corporation area.
Counting will begin at 8 am on October 6. October 5 has been reserved for repolling, if required.