AGENCY
NEW DELHI, May 1
Voting for the first phase of the Assam panchayat elections will take place on Friday, May 2, marking the beginning of a high-stakes electoral battle, ahead of the crucial 2026 assembly elections in the state.
The first phase will cover 14 districts—Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Sivasagar, Majuli, Jorhat, Golaghat, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Sonitpur, Biswanath, Cachar, Hailakandi, and the newly created Sribhumi district.
A high-octane campaign blitz by the BJP-led NDA came to a close on Wednesday, with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma leading the charge alongside Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and state BJP president Dilip Saikia.
The ruling coalition focused its messaging on rural development, infrastructure improvement, and the implementation of flagship central schemes such as the PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission.
With more than 50,000 seats up for grabs across Gram Panchayats, Anchalik Panchayats, and Zila Parishads, the polls are expected to witness intense electoral contests and high voter turnout.
The NDA has already secured an uncontested victory in 37 Zila Parishad and 288 Anchalik Panchayat seats—an outcome Chief Minister Sarma hailed as “an unprecedented achievement in Assam’s political landscape.”
The panchayat elections will be conducted in two phases—on May 2 and May 7.
The State Election Commission has ramped up security arrangements, deploying additional forces and implementing stringent guidelines to ensure peaceful and fair polling.
Political observers and voters alike are watching the contest closely, as its results are expected to shape not just local governance but also reflect the evolving political mood across Assam’s diverse regions.
