2 senior BPF leaders in Assam join BJP ahead of next year’s assembly polls

Eleven days after quitting Bodoland Peoples’ Party (BPF) as its working president, Biswajit Daimary joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday.

Daimary, who resigned from the Rajya Sabha on Saturday, joined the saffron party along with BPF MLA Emmanuel Mushahary in a brief ceremony held at Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal’s residence. The event was attended by BJP state chief Ranjeet Kumar Dass and other party leaders.

“Two senior leaders of BPF joining BJP ahead of the BTC polls is a significant development. I welcome both Daimary and Mushahary and it will boost our prospects of winning the BTC polls even further,” Sonowal said.

The development, which comes ahead of next month’s election to the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) and assembly polls due in March-April next year, is likely to sharpen differences between BJP and BPF, which is a coalition partner in the BJP-led state government of which the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) is also a part.

“People in BTC areas want planned all-round development and I believe BJP has that vision to implement it. We will soon reach out to people in BTC to convey BJP’s message,” Daimary said soon after joining the BJP.

Elections to BTC, which was ruled by BPF was scheduled in April this year, but the entire BTAD was placed under Governor’s rule the same month as polls couldn’t be held due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

Election to BTC will be held in two phases next month and a bitter campaign between both parties is underway to take control of the council which has a total of 40 seats.

The BPF leadership been unhappy with BJP for placing BTC under Governor’s rule and differences between both ruling partners sharpened in recent months. BPF has 12 MLAs in the state assembly.

On Friday, chief minister Sonowal, Dass and senior minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had met BJP national president JP Nadda in Delhi to discuss the party’s strategy for the assembly polls.