Bodoland Territorial Council elections: BPF leading with 19 seats, BJP secures 9

The Bodoland People’s Front (BPF)  at 3 PM was leading the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) elections, with 19 seats, as per the media reports.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) were at nine seats each, while Congress was yet to make a beginning. Independent candidates and smaller groups have together secured 1 seat

Advertisement

The counting of votes for the 5th Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) general elections is underway on Friday amid tight security. The counting began at 8 am, with postal votes being counted first. The voting was held on September 22.

“The counting is going on smoothly. The counting of postal ballots has started. Adequate security is deployed. We are confident that there will be no problem and everything will be peaceful. No one other than election agents has been allowed,” Kokrajhar District Commissioner and Returning Officer Masanda Pertin said.

A total of 326 candidates contested the BTC elections for 40 seats spanning across five districts – Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa, Tamulpur and Udalguri under the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).

There are 12 constituencies in the Kokrajhar district where a total of 100 candidates are in the fray. Of these, 43 candidates are contesting from the Kokrajhar sub-division, 48 from the Gossaigaon sub-division, and 1 from Parbatjhora.

The main electoral battle is between the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL), led by incumbent BTC Chief Pramod Boro, and Assam’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The BJP campaign was spearheaded by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who addressed multiple rallies across the BTR in support of BJP candidates.

At the BJP’s manifesto release event, CM Sarma said the 2025 BTC election would ensure a new journey in the Bodoland Territorial Region.

“BJP has released the Sankalp Patra for the BTC election. We will implement all schemes in the BTR region. Five lakh women of BTR will be included in the Assam Orunodoi Scheme, the Mahila Udyamita Scheme, and girl students of BTR will get benefits under the Nijut Moina Scheme. BJP will work to provide constitutional safeguards and land rights to the people of BTR,” he had said.

On the other hand, UPPL chief Pramod Boro centered his campaign around his party’s efforts in restoring peace in the BTR. He emphasized that his administration had brought peace and stability to the region after years of unrest and expressed confidence that voters would once again place their trust in the UPPL.