Guwahati: Assam is set for the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) elections on Monday, with 316 candidates contesting for the 40-member council. Polling will take place from 7:30 am to 4 pm across the five districts administered by the BTC, officials said.
The Assam State Election Commission has assured that all necessary measures are in place to ensure a smooth and peaceful polling process.
Polling personnel have already been deployed to remote booths across Kokrajhar, Baksa, Chirang, Udalguri, and Tamulpur.
A total of 26,58,153 voters, including 13,34,600 women, are eligible to cast their ballots at 3,359 polling stations. Of these, 187 stations will be managed entirely by female polling personnel.
The election comes amid intense campaigning. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma held rallies across all five BTC districts as the BJP contests independently for the first time.
The incumbent United Peoples’ Party Liberal (UPPL), led by BTC chief Pramod Boro, and the Bodoland Peoples’ Front (BPF) have also been actively reaching out to voters ahead of the polls.
Of the 40 seats in the council, 30 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes, five for non-ST candidates, and five are open to both ST and non-ST contestants.
Repolling, if necessary, is scheduled for September 24, while votes will be counted on September 26, with the election process expected to conclude by September 28.
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Currently, the UPPL governs the council in coalition with the BJP and the Gana Suraksha Party (GSP). In the previous BTC elections, the UPPL had secured 12 seats, the BJP nine, and GSP one.
The BPF, which ruled the council for three consecutive terms before 2020, emerged as the single largest party with 17 seats in the last polls, while Congress won one seat, whose member later joined the BJP.
The last council elections were held following the signing of the new Bodo Accord in New Delhi in January 2020, a landmark agreement aimed at strengthening peace and development in the Bodoland Territorial Region.
