Assam: Bodoland Territorial Council elections on September 22

Guwahati, Aug 26 (PTI) Elections to the 40-member Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) in Assam will be held on September 22, State Election Commissioner Ranjan Sarma announced on Tuesday.

The last date for the filing of nominations is September 2, while the scrutiny of the nominations will be held on September 4, he said.

The last date for withdrawal of nominations is September 6, he added The counting of votes will be held on September 26, and the entire election process will be completed by September 28.

The polling will be held from 7.30 am to 4 pm on September 22. The counting of votes will begin at 8 am on September 26, Sarma said.

The model code of conduct will come into force with immediate effect in the entire Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), comprising Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa, Udalguri and Tamulpur districts of the state.

A total of 26,57,937 people will be eligible to vote in this election, an increase of 11.35 per cent since the last polls in 2020. Among the eligible voters are 13,23,399 males, 13,34,521 females and 17 persons of other genders.

The total number of polling stations in BTC has increased to 3,359 from 3,146 in 2020, a rise of 6.77 per cent, Sarma said.

Among the 40 seats in the BTC, 30 seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates, five for non-STs and the remaining five are open to both ST and non-ST candidates.

A candidate can spend a maximum of Rs 10 lakh for the campaign.

A coalition of the United Peoples' Party Liberal (UPPL), the BJP and the Gana Suraksha Party (GSP) is in power in the council.

The BJP has decided to contest the upcoming polls independently, with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma campaigning actively in the region for the last one month.

In the last polls, held in December 2020, the UPPL had won 12 seats, the BJP nine and GSP one seat.

The Bodoland Peoples' Front (BPF), which was in power in the council for the previous three terms, emerged as the single largest party with 17 seats, and Congress secured one seat with its elected member later joining the BJP.

The BPF was then BJP's partner in the state government, but the ruling party decided to join hands with the UPPL and the GSP to assume power in the council The polls were held after a fresh Bodo Accord was signed in New Delhi on January 27, 2020. PTI DG DG SOM