THE BJP has allied with the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) and the Gana Suraksha Party (GSP) to form the ruling alliance in the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), the results of whose polls were declared on Sunday. Promod Boro, a former president of All Bodo Students’ Union who leads the UPPL now, will become the next Chief Executive Member (CEM) of the BTC. “I hope that under the new CEM Promod Boro’s leadership, the BTC will work for the development of all communities through cooperation,” Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said. BTC is an autonomous, self-governing body under Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. There have been two Bodo accords earlier - the second led to BTC’s formation in 2003. In the 2015 BTC elections, the BPF won 20 seats and came to power, and the BJP won only one seat. NDA is committed to serving the people of the Northeast. I congratulate our ally UPPL and @BJP4Assam for securing a majority in the Assam BTC election, and wish them the very best in fulfilling people’s aspirations. I thank the people for placing their faith in the NDA. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 13, 2020 Elections to the 40-member BTC were held on December 7 and 10. The UPPL won 12 seats, the BJP nine, the GSP one, and the Congress one. The BPF—which is the BJP’s ally in the state government—won 17 seats. The BJP did not ally with the BPF, against which it had campaigned vociferously, but went with the UPPL. There are three ministers from the BPF in Sonowal's Cabinet. Explained | Why are BJP and ally BPF fighting each other in Assam’s Bodoland Territorial Council polls? In a Cabinet meeting held on Sunday, none of the three were present. “With the love and support of the people of BTC, our party has got the single largest majority with 17 seats out of 40. Since we are in alliance with the BJP in central as well as the state, our party is hopeful that the BJP will support us in forming the government. Our party is committed to work for the growth and prosperity of our region,” Hagrama Mohilary, the BPF supremo and former BTC CEM, had posted on social media after the results. NDA secured a comfortable majority in Assam BTC election. Congratulations to our ally UPPL, CM @sarbanandsonwal, @himantabiswa, @RanjeetkrDass and @BJP4Assam unit. I thank people of Assam for their continued faith in PM @narendramodi’s resolve towards a developed North East. — Amit Shah (@AmitShah) December 13, 2020 As the new alliance in the BTC was announced on Sunday, top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, congratulated the UPPL and called the party an ally. “NDA is committed to serving the people of the Northeast. I congratulate our ally UPPL and @BJP4Assam for securing a majority in the Assam BTC election, and wish them the very best in fulfilling people’s aspirations. I thank the people for placing their faith in the NDA,” PM Modi tweeted. This year’s BTC election comes after the Centre signed a landmark peace and development accord with Bodo groups in January, which was followed by the laying down of arms by over 1,600 cadres of the militant outfit National Democratic Front of Bodoland. The accord and the promise of its quick implementation gives the BJP an advantage in the elections. As the leader of the All Bodo Students’ Union then, Promod Boro was a signatory to the accord.
