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‘New dawn’ in Bodoland council: BJP, UPPL and GSP join hands to keep BPF out
UPPL chief Pramod Boro will become the new BTC chief, said Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Sunday.
The Bodoland Territorial Council would witness a ‘new dawn’ said Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma as Bharatiya Janata Party extended its support to the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) and Gana Suraksha Party (GSP) to stake claim for running the council after the BJP’s ally in state government, the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), emerged as the single majority party in the final election results declared on Sunday.
UPPL chief Pramod Boro will become the new BTC chief, said Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Sunday, after a crucial meeting held among representatives of the three political parties.
After the declaration of the results, he said the coalition - the UPPL, the GSP and the BJP - will stake claim to run the Council.
Soon after the announcement, BJP minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted, “A New dawn in BTR. “
Earlier in the day, BJP national president JP Nadda tweeted, “Congratulations to UPPL, NDA partner and Sarbanda 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.”
Despite being an alliance partner in Assam government, the BPF and the BJP contested the 40-seat BTC polls separately after Sarma announced that their alliance was only for 2016 assembly polls.
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In elections, for which polling happened on December 7 and 8, and votes were counted on December 10, the BPF got 17 seats, the UPPL secured 12 seats and the BJP nine. The Congress and the GSP won one seat each, according to final results released on Sunday.
BPF chief Hagrama Mohilary, on the other hand, sought BJP’s support.
As Assam Assembly polls are about to be held in 2021, the BTC poll was seen as semi-final contest among the political parties.
The BTC poll was conducted following a fresh Bodo Accord that was signed by the four factions of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) in New Delhi on January 27.
The poll was conducted in four districts of the Bodoland Territorial Region including Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksha and Udalguri. Over 23,00,000 electorates exercised their franchise in the election.
The poll was supposed to be held on April 4 but the schedule was deferred to March 20 following the Covid-19 pandemic. The term of the House ended on April 27 and the Council administration went under the Governor’s rule.
