March 20, 2025: Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Bhupen Borah has launched a blistering attack on Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the BJP, accusing them of deliberately delaying the panchayat elections through intimidation tactics. He alleged that due to BJP’s threats, a candidate was forced to withdraw their nomination instead of contesting.
“BJP is using fear to manipulate election results. If they hadn’t resorted to such tactics, the outcome would have been different,” Borah claimed. A special committee has now been formed to investigate the sudden withdrawal of nominations.
Slamming the repeated postponements of panchayat elections, Borah issued a final warning to the government: If the election date is not announced by April 5, Congress will move the court on April 6. He also expressed distrust in the Chief Minister’s intentions, saying, “I have no faith that Himanta Biswa Sarma will announce the election date.”
According to Borah, the government is scared of public outrage and is avoiding announcing the polls due to growing dissatisfaction among the masses. “The Chief Minister has already changed the panchayat election date 18 times. The claim that school examinations are causing the delay is completely misleading since nomination papers are not collected in schools or colleges,” he pointed out.
The Congress leader speculated that the government may finally declare the election date on March 27 but warned of serious consequences if polls are not conducted. “If elections are not held, the state will suffer an economic loss of ₹1,100-₹1,200 crore,” he warned. He further reaffirmed that Congress stands firmly in favor of conducting elections for the sake of the state's development.
Speaking on ticket distribution, Borah confirmed that district-level committees will have full authority over allocating Congress panchayat tickets.
Taking a sharp swipe at the Chief Minister over his alleged high-handedness in dealing with legal professionals, Borah said, “Those who once taught Himanta Biswa Sarma about law and governance are now being ignored by him. His arrogance has grown beyond control.”
With tensions escalating over the panchayat elections and allegations of BJP’s intimidation tactics, all eyes are now on the Assam government.