Assam: Counting of votes for Bodoland Territorial Council elections underway

Guwahati, Sep 26 (PTI) The counting of votes polled in the September 22 elections to the 40-member Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) in Assam was underway on Friday, officials said.

The vote-counting process began at 8 am, with postal ballots taken up first. With the polling held through ballot papers, the entire process may take time, they said.

Counting is being held at eight centres in five districts and three co-district headquarters of Bodoland Territorial Region, the officials said.

The election to the 40-member council, which has jurisdiction over the five districts of Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa, Udalguri and Tamulpur, was held peacefully on September 22 with no re-polling ordered.

Among the prominent candidates in fray are incumbent BTC chief Pramod Boro, contesting from the two constituencies of Dotma and Goibari, and former council chief Hagrama Mohilary, contesting from Debargaon and Chirangduar.

Around 78.42 per cent of the total electorate of 26,58,153, comprising 13,23,536 men, 13,34,600 women and 17 people of the third gender, had cast their votes at 3,359 polling stations.

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

Alliance partners United Peoples' Party Liberal (UPPL), BJP and Gana Suraksha Party (GSP) have headed the outgoing council.

In the last council polls held in December 2020, the UPPL had won 12 seats, BJP nine and GSP one seat, while the Bodoland Peoples' Front (BPF), which had headed the council for the previous three terms, emerged as the single-largest party, bagging 17 seats, and Congress secured one seat with its elected member later joining the BJP.

The BPF was then the BJP's alliance partner in the state government but the ruling party decided to join hands with the UPPL and the GSP to jointly form the council.

This is the second council poll after a fresh Bodo Accord was signed in New Delhi on January 27, 2020. PTI DG DG ACD