Silchar: Congress on Wednesday launched its campaign in Assam’s Silchar assembly constituency, using the opening of candidate Abhijit Paul’s election office to attack BJP over what it called a decade of unfulfilled development promises.Senior party leaders and supporters gathered in large numbers at the launch event in the Barak Valley town, marking the party’s bid to recover ground in a seat held by BJP.Addressing the gathering, Paul described the election as a “decisive battle against corruption, misgovernance and divisive politics.” He said key civic issues in Silchar remained unresolved despite repeated assurances from the ruling party.“BJP has been in power for years, yet the people of Silchar continue to struggle with fundamental civic problems. This election will be fought on the plank of accountability and real development,” he said.Congress leaders at the event accused BJP of having “betrayed public trust” by failing to deliver on its commitments and urged voters to back the party for “meaningful change” in governance.Paul also called on voters to reject politics based on caste and religion and support inclusive development. “People are now more aware and will respond through their votes,” he added.Party sources said the campaign would centre on door-to-door outreach, public meetings and local issues they say have been neglected for years.BJP has maintained that it has carried out major development work in the region, including improvements in connectivity and infrastructure.Silchar is part of the Silchar Lok Sabha constituency, which has seven assembly segments. In the 2021 Assam assembly election, BJP candidate Dipayan Chakraborty retained the seat with 98,558 votes, or 56.17%, defeating Congress candidate Tamal Kanti Banik, who polled 60,980 votes, or 34.75%. BJP won by 37,578 votes, a margin of 21.42%, in an election that saw 74.55% turnout.With campaigning gathering pace, political activity in Silchar has intensified ahead of what is shaping up to be a direct contest between the Congress and the BJP.
