BJP sweeps Assam tribal council polls

Congress draws a blank, finishes behind independents in many seats

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday swept the elections to the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC), winning all 26 seats, a few narrowly.

The Congress, once a strong force in the tribal council, drew a blank with some of its candidates finishing third behind independents.

“It’s a clean sweep for the @BJP4Assam in the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council by winning all 26 seats. Tremendous performance by the party under the guiding light of PM @narendramodi Ji and able leadership of @himantabiswa Ji,” BJP national vice-president and Assam in-charge Baijayant Jay Panda tweeted.

The KAAC is made up of 30 members, four of whom are nominated. The elections to the 26 seats were held on June 8.

The BJP, which had won 24 seats in the 2017 KAAC polls, credited its “historic” performance to its “people-friendly” approach.

“The Congress not only scored zero but failed to put up a contest. We won by a bigger margin of votes in most seats compared to the last time,” BJP leader and Minister Pijush Hazarika told journalists.

He admitted the Aam Admi Party (AAP), which had contested 10 seats, has made some inroads, adding “But the party has essentially eaten into the votes of Congress.”