BTC polls: New alliance on cards as BJP may join hands with UPPL
The UPPL won 12 and BJP 9, thus enabling the two parties to form stake for the council chairperson post in the 40-member Bodoland Territorial Council.
The ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to tie up with the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) to take over the Bodoland Territorial Council.
Its alliance partner Bodo People’s Front (BPF), which fought the polls separately and is engaged in a bitter war of words with the BJP, won 17 seats in the 40-member Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) polls, four short of the majority mark of 21.
The UPPL won 12 and BJP 9, thus enabling the two parties to form stake for the council chairperson post. The Congress and the Gana Suraksha Party (GSP) won one seat each, said officials on Sunday.
In 2015, the BPF had come to power for the third time in the BTC by winning 20 seats, Independent candidates had bagged 15 seats, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) bagged 4 and the BJP had won one seat.
BJP national president JP Nadda tweeted: “Congratulations to UPPL, NDA partner and Sarbananda Sonowal (Assam chief minister), to getting majority in Assam BTC election. The results show people’s faith in leadership and policies of prime minister Narendra Modi.”
The poll was conducted in four districts of the Bodoland Territorial Region comprising Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksha and Udalguri. Total 23, 87,422 electorates exercised their franchise in the two rounds of polling on December 07 and 10.
Counting for the polls started from Saturday and continued till Sunday morning.
This was the first poll held in Assam since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in March.
BPF chief Hagrama Mohilary won from Debergaon seat while UPPL candidate Ukil Mushahary won Kachigaon seat. Prominent losers included outgoing deputy chief executive member Khampa Borgoyary, BPF member Shyam Chundi and AIDUF’s four sitting members lost the polls.
Despite being an alliance partners, both the BPF and the BJP fought the BTC polls independently. On the other hand, the BJP and the UPPL indicated a possible post-poll pact though there was no announcement of any formal alliance among them so far.
When asked, BJP minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told the reporters that they would announce their decision about formation of the council after discussing with chief minister Sonowal later on Sunday.
This poll was seen as semi-final contest among the political parties ahead of assembly polls in Assam, supposed to be held in March-April in 2021.
The BTC poll was conducted following a fresh Bodo Accord that was signed by all four factions of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) in New Delhi on January 27.
Sonowal , then All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU) chief Pramod Boro, then BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary signed the accord.
The poll was supposed to be held on April 04 but the schedule was deferred to March 20 following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Filing of nomination papers followed by scrutiny was completed by March 20.
The term of the House ended on April 27 and the Council administration went under Governor’s rule.
(Inputs from PTI)
