And The Reign Continues

During the recent Panchayat Polls in Assam, BJP was able to prove its worth in the grassroots level

Earlier in 2018, the State Election Commission was directed by the Gauhati High Court to hold the polls by September 15, 2018. However the dates were pushed back to December 2018. According to the State Election Commission, the delay in holding the polls was due to the Sarbananda Sonowal government’s inability to spare government officials for election duty as they were engaged in the update process of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Eventually the Panchayat Polls in Assam took place on 5th and 9th December of last year.

The elections were crucial for the ruling BJP-BPF-AGP alliance, as it was the first test for the ally government after the May 2016 Assembly polls. AGP (Asom Gana Parishad), who was a part of the alliance, chose to contest the Panchayat polls alone. Prior to the elections, AGP’s party president, Atul Bora stated, ‘The Sonowal government has been facing protest from the majority of Assamese people and plains tribes because of the Citizenship Bill, so we are not going to the polls together.’

Moreover, the Panchayat elections were to be taken as an indicator of how things would turn out in the upcoming 2019 general elections. BJP spokesperson Rupam Goswami had remarked, ‘The results will give an idea about the mood of the voters in the State and will be a projection for the upcoming 2019 general elections.’

Understanding Panchayats in Assam

Assam has been actively promoting Panchayati Raj, right from the dawn of independence. In Assam, the first Panchayati Raj legislation was the Rural Panchayat Act, 1948. This Act was aimed at developing local self-government in the rural areas of Assam and making better provisions for administration, reconstruction and development of villages. The Assam Panchayati Raj Act established Gaon Panchayats with power larger than previous Gaon Sabhas at the village level and Mahakuma Parishad at the sub divisional level.