Dhubri, Jan. 22: More than one lakh people, including 9,000 new voters, spread across one municipal board and four town committees in Dhubri district, will cast their votes in the civic body polls next month.

Three town committees will have the same number of wards. The number of wards under Chapor town committee has been expanded to eight from four following an increase in number of voters.

Officials on election duty in Dhubri district today said there are 46,212 voters in 16 wards under Dhubri Municipal Board, 25,551 voters in 14 wards under Bilasipara town committee, 18,535 voters in four wards under Gauripur town committee, 14,110 voters in eight wards under Chapor town committee and 9,901 voters in four wards under Sapatgram town committee.

The BJP is hoping to capture the board and all the four town committees in Dhubri district riding the Narendra Modi 'wave' and will leave no stone unturned in a membership drive which will start after the announcement of party candidates on Thursday.

Dhubri district BJP president Dipak Kumar Saha said his party is all set to form the board and the town committees in the district.

'We have done good work where the BJP had a board or town committees and people want development and improvement in civic amenities. So we expect to win all the four town committees and the board in Dhubri,' Saha said.

The AGP, on the other hand, is consolidating its strength in Bilasipara town committee which has 14 wards and is an important committee after Dhubri Municipal Board in the district. The AGP formed the board in Bilasipara in its last term, but was later toppled by the Congress.

Talking to this correspondent, former AGP legislator from Bilasipara (East), Prasanta Kumar Barua, said the party has a strong footing in the Bilasipara town committee and this time too they would secure majority.

'People know what the Congress has done in the last two years of its term and what we had done in three years prior to that. So we are confident of winning not only in Bilasipara, but also in Dhubri and other three town committees,' Barua added.

In its last term, the Congress had only formed town committees in Chapor while the AGP had formed Bilasipara and Gauripur town committees. The BJP had formed the Dhubri Municipal Board in alliance with the AGP and Sapatgram town committees.

Dhubri district Congress president Sushil Chandra Roy said the party would field candidates in all wards in the Dhubri Municipal Board and four town committees in the district. 'We are confident of showing better performance this time,' Roy said.

Deputy commissioner Nazrul Islam said at a news conference on voter listthat altogether there is an increase of 21,901 voters in Dhubri, Gauripur and Golokganj Assembly constituencies. There are 511,363 voters in the three constituencies and 98.28 per cent voter identity cards have so far been issued.