The results of the 40-member Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) elections in Assam, dubbed as the semi-final ahead of the Assembly polls next year, has thrown up a fractured mandate and the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has emerged as the biggest gainer.
The elections were contested on December 7 and 10 and after the Bodo Peace Accord was signed, these were the first elections. The BJP, which heads Assam’s ruling coalition, is likely to emerge as the major winner as the party has won/leading in 10 seats. It had managed just one seat in the 2015 BTC polls.
The Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) which has ruled BTC for almost over 17 years could not secure the magic figures of 21 and won just 17, three less than what it had in 2015. The United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL), led by student-leader-turned-politician Pramod Boro, a key signatory to the Bodo peace Accord, has also won 12 seats.
Due to the fractured mandate, BTC can witness a coalition rule for the first time.
Despite the BJP having an alliance with the BPF in running the Assam government, in these politically important BTC polls, the saffron party has ditched its junior partner and decided to contest elections solo. Earlier, the Assam BJP had also hinted that it would not like to continue its alliance with the BPF for the 2021 Assam polls, a mere six months away.
The credit for the extraordinary well performance of BJP goes to Himanta Biswa Sarma who has proved to be an effective organizer for the BJP in the Northeast. Sarma has known politicians of all hues in the area because of his years in the All Assam Students Union. His aggressive campaigning, leading massive rallies across the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) in the run-up to the election has helped BJP to gain in the BTC elections.
The BTC election is considered as a semi-final before the 126-member Assam Assembly goes to the polls in March-April next year.