NDA claims early lead with 37 Zila Parishad, 288 Anchalik Panchayat seats secured unopposed; CM Sarma hails mandate as ‘unprecedented’
Guwahati, April 18: In a significant development ahead of the upcoming Panchayat elections in Assam, a total of 2,902 candidates have been declared elected unopposed across various constituencies, according to the State Election Commission (SEC).
Of these, 34 candidates were elected unopposed in Zila Parishad (ZPC) constituencies, 311 in Anchalik Panchayat (APC), and a massive 2,557 in Gaon Panchayat (GPC) seats. The announcement follows the conclusion of the nomination withdrawal deadline.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took to social media platform X to share the scale of the NDA’s early lead. He stated that 37 ZPC candidates (35 from BJP and 2 from AGP) and 288 APC candidates (259 BJP and 29 AGP) have been elected without contest.
“This is a massive and unprecedented mandate in Assam’s political history. It reflects the immense trust and overwhelming love that the people of Assam have for the NDA and for our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi,” Sarma said.
He expressed confidence that the final tally would be even more decisive in the NDA’s favor, claiming the alliance is poised for a sweeping victory. Sarma also extended gratitude to the people of Assam and praised party workers for their relentless grassroots efforts.
Cachar district reported the highest number of uncontested victories in the GPC category, with 319 members elected unopposed, followed by Sonitpur with 261 and Kamrup with 237.
For the APC category, Kamrup again led with 42 candidates elected without opposition, followed by Sonitpur with 36 and Nagaon with 32.
Out of 7,173 candidates who filed nominations, 179 applications were rejected and 385 candidates withdrew, leaving 6,606 in the electoral fray.
Dhubri district leads in the number of contesting candidates with 486, followed by Cachar (445), Nagaon (427), Barpeta (352), and Hailakandi (332). In contrast, Kamrup Metro reported the lowest participation, with just 21 candidates contesting.
The candidate figures from key districts are- Kamrup (297 candidates), Sivasagar & Morigaon (221 each), Tinsukia (266), Dibrugarh (269), Lakhimpur (259), Jorhat (243), Sonitpur (196), Nalbari (155), Majuli (57) and Darrang (55)
The high number of uncontested victories has added a new dynamic to the Panchayat polls, raising questions about opposition preparedness and voter engagement at the grassroots level. With the NDA already securing hundreds of seats, all eyes are now on how the remaining contests unfold.
A total of 1,80,36,682 voters will participate in the election, comprising 90,71,264 male voters and 89,65,010 female voters. This marks a 13.27% increase compared to the 2018 panchayat elections, which had a total of 1,56,41,456 voters.
The election will be conducted for 21,920 Gram Panchayat (GP) members, 2,190 GP presidents, 2,192 GP vice-presidents, 2,192 Anchalik Panchayat (AP) members, 181 AP presidents, 181 AP vice-presidents and 387 Zila Parishad (ZP) members.
