GUWAHATI: The BJP, in collaboration with its new ally, United People’s Party Liberation (UPPL), is set to take control of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) for the first time after a bitter battle with its ally-turned-rival Bodoland. Popular Front (BPF).
The results of the 40-member BTC poll have led to a hanging house with the ruling BPF emerging as the largest party to win 17 seats, election officials said Sunday.
The UPPL has won 12 seats, the BJP nine, while Congress and the Gana Suraksha Party (GSP) each won one seat.
Officially, they fought the elections on their own, but the two are on track to establish a post-election alliance that they are preparing for in Guwahati.
BPF ended up as the largest party and hopes that by virtue of its alliance with the BJP, the two will take control of the council. BJP State Leadership does not want to continue the alliance, but BPF leadership maintains that unless the national leadership of the BJP says so, the alliance is supposed to continue.
But BJP state chairman Ranjeet Dass while expressing his gratitude to the 5.4 billion BJP workers and voters in the BTC area for his party’s impressive result given that in 2015 the BJP had won. only one seat, announced that not BPF but UPPL will be a partner.
“The people at BTC wanted a change. We will meet UPPL leader Pramod Boro here after some time where Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Himanta Biswa Sarma he will also be present, ”said Dass.
the BTC Surveys they were more of a test for the popularity of the BJP before the next assembly elections in April. Dass added: “This BTC election was the semifinal of the assembly election, which is only 115 days away.”
While BPF contested in 37 of the 40 seats, the BJP challengers presented their candidates in 26 seats, GSP in 35, Congress in 13 and AIUDF in seven. Only the UPPL contested the 40 seats.
The BTC elections were postponed on March 20 by the Assam State Election Commission due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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