Guwahati: The ongoing election to the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) is not a mere battle of ballots for the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) this time, it is rather a semi-final for the forthcoming assembly polls in Assam, slated for early next year.
The election to the 40 constituencies under the Council, an autonomous administrative arrangement under the Sixth Schedule of Indian Constitution, is also dubbed as a litmus test for different political parties and political alliances ahead of the next year's polls.
While the first phase of the BTC election that covered 21 of the 40 council constituencies were held on December 7, the second phase of elections for the 19 seats are underway on Thursday.
Repoll, if any, will take place on December 11 and the counting of votes is scheduled for December 12. The Council has the strength of 46 members--while 40 are elected every five years, six are nominated.
The ongoing election to the Sixth Schedule council has unfolded developments in unexpected lines. The BTC elections have witnessed souring of relationships between the ruling BJP government in Assam and its partner Bodoland Peoples' Front (BPF), which is ruling the Bodoland Territorial Council since its formation in 2003.
Although the BJP and BPF are still partners of the ruling dispensation at Dispur, both the parties have contested the BTC elections separately and indications are that the alliance between the two parties will not last long, not long enough till the next year's assembly polls.
Both the BJP and the BPF had engaged themselves in bitter political mudslinging in the run-up to the BTC polls--while the senior member of the Assam cabinet Himanta Biswa Sarma has announced to throw BPF chief and former rebel Hagrama Mohilary into jail if the saffron party comes to power, Mohilary, on the other hand, have named Sarma as involved in all the financial scams in Assam, taking from Louise Berger to Saradha chit fund scam to Rose Valley chit fund scam.
Riding on the success of the third Bodo Peace Accord signed under its rule in 2020, the saffron party is also seen on an expansionist mode. Political analysts say that the bitterness between the BJP-BPF alliance is due to BJP's effort to strengthen its base in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), which was dominated by the BPF since its inception.
While the BPF is unwilling to accept the saffron challenge in its forte, the BJP, on the other hand, wanted to make its presence felt in the Bodo heartland so that it can influence the 12 assembly segments that fall under the BTR. The BTC polls have also seen the saffron party poaching two of BPF's strongmen--Rajya Sabha MP Biswajit Daimary and its general secretary, Emmanuel Moshahari.
The BJP feels that the formation of BTR as part of the third Bodo accord will give it some advantage in many assembly segments where the Bodos are deciding factors.
The BTC election is also likely to impact the ties between the BJP and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), which has been in alliance since 2016. Senior leaders in the saffron party said that a win in the BTC election might polarize the Bodo electorates in their favour ahead of assembly polls. Although the alliance with the AGP continues, the saffron party has made it clear that seat-sharing with the regional party will be done according to the party's strength.
Meanwhile, the Congress and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) have also used the BTC polls to strengthen their ties for the forthcoming assembly polls. Both the AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal and Congress president Ripun Bora were seen sharing the dais together to address rallies in BTR--which is also been termed a prelude not only to gauge the people's mood but also to seal the proposed grand alliance of opposition parties ahead of the next year's polls.
While AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal has on record termed the Congress as its 'big brother', senior Congress leader and party's convener for the BTC election Durga Das Boro made it clear that the partnership with the AIUDF remains and that it would play a major role in the forthcoming assembly polls in Assam.
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