No surprise if BJP emerges as single largest party in BTC polls: Himanta

Mangaldai, Sep 9 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said it would come as no surprise if the BJP emerges as the single largest party in the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) election, scheduled to be held on September 22.

Sarma said the BJP is contesting the polls in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) to ensure peace there.

“The BJP has shown strong competitiveness in the BTR polls this time. Earlier, the two major parties there were UPPL and BPF, and the BJP was a small party,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a visit to Mangaldai to review preparations for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit on September 14.

“But this time, I think the way that BJP is contesting the BTC polls, it should not come as a surprise if we emerge as the single largest party,” he said.

Election to the 40-member BTC is scheduled on September 22, with counting of votes to be undertaken on September 26.

The saffron party has fielded candidates in 32 seats this time.

It is part of the UPPL-led collation in the BTC, with Gana Surkasha Party (GSP) as the third partner.

Sarma, who had campaigned in BTR extensively ahead of the declaration of election schedule, maintained that the BJP is “contesting the polls so that peace sustains in BTR”.

In the last BTC polls, the UPPL had won 12 seats, the BJP nine and Gana Suraksha Party one.

The Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) had emerged as the single largest party with 17 seats in the previous polls. The Congress' lone member in the Council had joined the BJP.

The UPPL and BJP, along with its third alliance partner in the state government – Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) – had decided to contest the BTC election separately.

The UPPL and BPF, which was in power in the BTC since its formation in 2005 before being ousted in the last polls in 2020, have named candidates for all 40 seats.

The Congress will also be contesting in all 40 segments, and the AGP in four.

The five districts under BTR are Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa, Tamulpur and Udalguri. PTI SSG RBT