Jolaibari:Serious allegations of neglect, underdevelopment and misuse of public funds have emerged from the Jolaibari Assembly Constituency, casting a shadow over the performance of local MLA and Cabinet Minister Shuklacharan Noatia of the IPFT, a coalition partner in the BJP-led state government. While the Minister’s social media pages regularly portray a picture of rapid development, residents on the ground are telling a starkly different story.
In the 2023 Assembly Elections, BJP workers and supporters in Jolaibari worked relentlessly to defeat the Left front and secure victory for Shuklacharan Noatia, who was subsequently inducted into the state cabinet. Hopes ran high that his ministerial status would translate into accelerated development for the constituency. However, those hopes appear to have been largely unfulfilled.
One of the most serious allegations concerns the Jolaibari Higher Secondary School, where construction of a new gallery is underway. Locals allege that rather than genuine new construction, old and damaged structures are merely being plastered over while large sums of public money are being siphoned off.
In the West Jolaibari Animal Farm area, residents have been suffering for years due to the lack of a proper road and clean drinking water. The road, damaged by flooding several years ago, has never been repaired despite repeated appeals to Panchayat representatives and other authorities. Frustrated and desperate, locals have now directly appealed to the Chief Minister and approached the media to highlight their plight.
Further controversy surrounds the 2026 ADC elections, where allegations have emerged that IPFT deliberately fielded a candidate in Jolaibari to split votes, ultimately handing victory to the Tipra Motha candidate at the expense of the BJP nominee.
Residents are now demanding immediate administrative action to address the constituency’s road and drinking water crisis, while calling for accountability from their elected representative.