Ruling BJP takes control of Guwahati Municipal Corporation affairs

Guwahati: The ruling BJP in Assam on Tuesday took control of Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) for the first time in the history of the civic body, after its candidates Mrigen Sarania and Bijuli Kalita Medhi were elected unopposed as the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the Corporation respectively.
The mayoral election was necessitated following the resignation of the incumbent Mayor Abir Patra of the Congress last week, Congress had lost majority in the GMC after losing all the four legislative assembly constituencies under the GMC, three of which were secured by BJP and one by its ally AGP in recently held state Assembly polls.
The two BJP councilors Mrigen Sarania and Bijuli Kalita Medhi were picked by chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal as BJP’s nominee for Mayor and Deputy-Mayor respectively.
Senior BJP leader and state Cabinet minister in-charge of Guwahati Development Department (GDD), Dr Himanta Bishwa Sarmah termed it a historic occasion for the BJP for being able to take control of the GMC for the first time.
Newly-elected Mayor Mrigen Sarania said it would be a challenging task to solve the problems of the residents living in GMC area and promised to put up the best possible efforts to make the city cleaner and greener.
Meanwhile, Assam state unit of the BJP today made its vice-president, Santanu Bharali as the president in-charge of the state unit till the election of the state party president is held in next month. The position of the state party position became vacant after Sarbananda Sonowal had become the chief minister of the state following the victory of the BJP-led alliance in the Assembly polls.