As its impressive run in poll after poll continues – this time in Assam — the BJP on Sunday decided to join hands with the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) and the Gana Suraksha Party (GSP) to jointly form the next Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) after the results threw up a hung House. And in the process, the BJP junked the offer of its NDA ally Bodoland People’s Front’s (BPF), which has three Ministers in the Sarbanand Sonowal Government, to join hands with it to form the BTC. The BJP and BPF had contested separately.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah promptly congratulated the BJP’s Assam unit along with ally UPPL for the win.
“NDA is committed to serving the people of the Northeast. I congratulate our ally UPPL and BJP Assam for securing a majority in the Assam Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) election,” Modi tweeted.
The 40-member new Council will be headed by UPPL Chief Pramod Boro, Sonowal told reporters after a meeting with the representatives of all the three parties. Boro is the former president of All Bodo Students’ Union and was a signatory of the peace accord earlier this year.
The United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) has won 12 seats, the BJP nine, while the Congress and the Gana Suraksha Party (GSP), headed by Lok Sabha MP Naba Sarania, got one each. The BPF emerged as the single largest party with 17 seats.
Shah said the BTC win is vindication of his party’s commitment to the development of the North-East. “NDA secured a comfortable majority in Assam Bodoland Territorial Council polls. Congratulations to our ally UPPL, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, State Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and party’s Assam unit. I thank people of Assam for their continued faith in Prime Minister’s resolve towards developed North East,” tweeted Shah.
“We’re going to stake claim to form the next BTC. Pramod Boro, UPPL will be the next BTC chief. UPPL urged JP Nadda (BJP president) to include them in NDA,” Sarma, Assam’s Minister and NEDA convenor, said.
The BTC is an autonomous district council covering the four districts of Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa and Udalguri, which fall under the Bodoland Territorial Region.
Addressing a press conference here, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said the BJP which had one seat in the outgoing council has now won nine seats this time round.
“We are winning, be it in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan or Telangana.. BJP is winning and Congress is losing,” said Javadekar.
The elections in 40 constituencies in the region were held in two phases on December 7 and December 10 while the results were declared on December 12.
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BPF chief Hagrama Mohilary appealed to BJP to extend its support in forming the BTC, but the latter chose to ally with the UPPL and GSP.