Guwahati: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will officially launch its campaign for the upcoming Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) elections on August 2, with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma leading the charge.
CM Sarma is set to hold a series of public rallies in Udalguri district, marking the beginning of the party’s push for the polls expected to be held in September.
In a significant shift from its previous strategy, the BJP has decided to contest the BTC elections independently. This stands in contrast to the 2020 polls, where it formed a post-election alliance with the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) to form the council government.
“BJP will contest in the upcoming BTC election alone and the party’s preparations are in full swing,” said Kishore Upadhyay, Chief Spokesperson of Assam State BJP.
The saffron party plans to field candidates in 38 of the 40 BTC constituencies. In a show of respect to two prominent Bodo leaders, Pramod Boro and former BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary, the BJP will not contest in their respective seats.
Other key figures, including Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and State BJP President Dilip Saikia, are also slated to join the campaign trail.
The decision to go solo was finalised at a recent high-level strategy meeting held at the state BJP headquarters in Guwahati. This move reflects the party’s growing confidence and its determination to strengthen its political foothold in the Bodoland region.
The Assam State Election Commission recently released the draft electoral rolls for the 40 BTC constituencies, which include 26,69,396 voters. Of these, 13,29,742 are male, 13,39,637 are female, and 17 identify as “other.” Voting will take place at 3,277 polling stations across the region.
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The BTC is a key administrative body for the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), which covers the districts of Kokrajhar, Baksa, Chirang, and Udalguri.
