Silchar | The BJP has finalised candidates for 38 of the 42 wards of the newly formed Silchar Municipal Corporation, but has kept its choice for Mayor under wraps ahead of the October 3 civic polls. The remaining four wards have been allotted to the party’s NDA ally, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), bringing an end to days of deliberations over seat allocation and candidate selection.

The 42-member corporation will cover areas falling under the Silchar, Udharbond, Borkhola and Sonai Assembly constituencies. Counting of votes will be held on October 6. The BJP’s decision not to announce its mayoral candidate at this stage is being seen as a strategy to focus first on securing a strong position across the wards before deciding who will lead the corporation.

Party sources said the civic contest is likely to be driven largely by local factors rather than broader political equations. Candidate credibility, personal accessibility, community equations and ward-specific civic grievances are expected to play a significant role in determining the outcome.

The BJP’s list includes both younger faces and experienced party workers. Kuldeep Nihal Choudhury and Abhishek Chakraborty are among the younger candidates, while former Silchar Municipal Board vice-chairperson Bijendra Prasad Singh and party workers Pradyut Paul, Amarendra Paul and Sushmita Purkayastha have also been given tickets.

Amarendra Paul and Sushmita Purkayastha are advocates by profession.

However, the announcement has also exposed discontent within the BJP, with some unsuccessful ticket aspirants reportedly resigning from the party’s primary membership soon after the candidate list was released. Their next move could become significant if they decide to contest as Independents, potentially dividing the BJP’s vote in closely fought wards.

The party leadership had anticipated the possibility of rebellion. During a meeting with state BJP leaders on Sunday, ticket aspirants were reportedly warned against entering the fray independently if they were denied nominations. Managing dissent and preventing rebel candidates from eating into the party’s support base will therefore be among the BJP’s immediate challenges as campaigning gathers momentum.

The candidate selection process involved several rounds of discussions between the state leadership and the election management committee. The deliberations intensified after a meeting attended by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday night, followed by further consultations from Tuesday morning.

The final list was prepared after discussions involving Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah, Silchar election management committee chairman and Minister Kaushik Rai, MLAs Rajdeep Roy, Kishor Nath and Rajdeep Goala, former MLA Dipayan Chakraborty, Rajya Sabha MPs Kanad Purkayastha and Sushmita Dev, Cachar BJP president Rupam Saha and other senior party functionaries.

The allocation of four wards to the AGP also reflects the BJP’s effort to maintain coordination within the NDA while retaining the dominant share of the electoral contest.

With the candidate list now in place, the BJP faces a two-pronged challenge in Silchar – converting its organisational strength into ward-level victories and keeping disgruntled aspirants from turning the civic election into an internal contest. The question of who will become the first Mayor of the new corporation, meanwhile, remains open.