Guwahati, Dec 13: The results for the crucial Bodoland territorial council polls have been declared throwing out a fractured mandate, with BJP emerging as the major gainer.
A New dawn in BTR pic.twitter.com/OrsKgTYgIs
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) December 13, 2020
The Bodoland polls were seen as the semi-finals to the 2021 Assam polls, just six months away, the BJP has gone solo and fought against its key ally the Bodoland Peoples Front, which has been in power in the Bodoland for the past 15 years… while the BPF did manage to emerge as the single largest party will 17 out of 40, but falling short of the major mark of 21 seats… BJP has won nine seats, in 2015 it has won only one… but the congress AIUDF alliance has failed miserably winning only one seat.
NDA secured a comfortable majority in Assam BTC election.
Congratulations to our ally UPPL, CM @sarbanandsonwal, @himantabiswa, @RanjeetkrDass and @BJP4Assam unit.
I thank people of Assam for their continued faith in PM @narendramodi’s resolve towards a developed North East.
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) December 13, 2020
The Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) election, the results for which were declared on Saturday, threw up a fractured mandate with no party able to gather the winning figure. Deemed the “semi-final” before the Assam legislative polls of next year, it, however, saw the BJP making major inroads with nine seats won this time compared to one in 2015.
The BTC has 46 members, of which 40 are elected and six nominated. Elections were held to the body on December 7 and 10. This was the first such election since the Bodo Peace Accord was signed earlier this year.
The Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), which has ruled BTC for close to 17 years, failed to win the number required to rule the council independently. It won 17 seats, three less than what it had in 2015. The outfit, led by militant-turned-politician Hagrama Mohilary, still emerged as the single-largest party, though.
The opposition alliance of Congress and the Badruddin Ajmal-led All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) performed poorly this time. While the national party managed one seat, the local outfit simply failed to take off.
Finally, the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL), a hardliner party, has emerged as the potential kingmaker this election with 12 seats. It is led by student-leader-turned politician Pramod Boro, a key signatory to the Bodo Peace Accord.
