Guwahati | The Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) has raised questions over the nomination papers and educational qualifications of 13 BJP candidates contesting the first Silchar Municipal Corporation election.

Addressing a press conference in Guwahati on Wednesday, AJP leader Kunki Chowdhury alleged that complaints against the 13 candidates had been submitted to the State Election Commission and district election authorities but remained unresolved.

One of the cases highlighted by Chowdhury involved BJP candidate Kanchan Deb from Ward 6. She alleged that Deb’s election affidavit stated that he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Sikkim International University in 2018, and questioned the declaration based on her claim about the university’s establishment date.

“We want to know how a degree could have been obtained from an institution that, according to the information available to us, was established later. The election authorities should verify this declaration and make the facts clear,” Chowdhury said.

She also questioned the educational declarations of BJP candidates Pratiksha Deb of Ward 14 and Paplee Karmakar of Ward 15, alleging that they had declared degrees from Jodhpur National University obtained in 2013 and 2019, respectively.

Referring to media reports about the university, Chowdhury questioned whether the certificates submitted by the candidates had been independently verified by the election authorities.

Another case cited by the AJP leader involved BJP candidate Uttam Kumar Gowala of Ward 39. She questioned an educational record that, according to her, listed HSLC qualification in 1999 and Higher Secondary qualification in 2024.

Chowdhury also questioned the handling of complaints by returning officer Rahul Kumar Gupta and called for greater transparency in the scrutiny process.

The allegations come amid an ongoing controversy over the educational qualifications of some candidates in the inaugural civic poll. Earlier, similar complaints had been raised against several BJP nominees. However, all candidates cleared the formal scrutiny of nominations.

In a separate case, a Silchar court had issued summons to BJP candidate Ataur Rahman Laskar of Ward 17 following a legal challenge to the educational qualification declared in his nomination affidavit.

The AJP said it would continue to raise questions over the conduct of the election and called for verification of all nomination documents.

The Silchar Municipal Corporation election is scheduled for October 3. The civic body has 42 wards, with polling to be held in 40 wards after BJP candidates were elected unopposed in two wards. The final contest involves 133 candidates, according to available election data.