BTC polls: Twin contests for top leaders; Mohilary-Borgoyari clash in two key seats

Kokrajhar, Sept 1: The contest for the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) has taken a dramatic turn with three heavyweight leaders entering the fray from two constituencies each.

Incumbent Chief Executive Member (CEM) Pramod Boro, his predecessor Hagrama Mohilary, and sitting Executive Member Ranjit Basumatary have all chosen to fight on twin turfs.

Boro, who leads the ruling United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL), is contesting from Goibari and Dotma, while Mohilary, chief of the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), has staked claims in Debargaon and Chirang Duar.

The two constituencies are expected to witness high-profile battles, with Mohilary facing his former deputy, Kampa Borgoyari, who is now a UPPL candidate, in both Debargaon and Chirang Duar.

Ranjjit Basumatary, another senior UPPL leader and Executive Member in the BTC, has also filed nominations from both Baukhungri and Nichima.

On Monday, both Boro and Mohilary filed their nomination from Goibari and Chirang Duar, respectively.

“I filed my nominations today from No 28 Goibari. The UPPL will do well in this election,” said Boro.

In Chirang district, the poll atmosphere picked up on Monday as candidates across parties filed nominations at the Sub-Divisional Officer’s office in Bijni, drawing rallies and sloganeering by supporters.

From the BPF, James Basumatary (Nishima), Dhiraj Borgoyari (Subhaijhar), Jangila Hajowary (Manah Cherfang) and Khalilur Rahman (Thuribari) entered the race.

The UPPL countered with Ranjit Basumatary (Nishima), Phanin Boro (Subhaijhar), Dhanjay Basumatary (Manah Cherfang) and Ranjhu Ahmed (Thuribari).

The Congress nominated Augustin Basumatary from Nishima and Avinash Brahma from Manah Cherfang, while the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) fielded Prarthajit Roy and the CPI(M) Shubhankar Ghosh, both in Thuribari.

With multiple players in the fray, constituencies such as Nishima, Subhaijhar, Manah Cherfang and Thuribari are set for fierce multi-cornered contests.

Earlier on Sunday night, both the UPPL and the BPF released their full list of 40 candidates. The UPPL, which heads the coalition with the BJP and Gana Suraksha Party (GSP) in the council, named sitting Executive Member Ranjit Basumatary from Baukhungri, Nichima.

The BPF, ousted from power in 2020 after ruling the BTC since its creation in 2005, fielded Azamul Hoque from Fakiragram, Maneswar Brahma from Baganpara and Jagadish Sarkar from Mwdwibari.

The last date for nominations is September 2, scrutiny will be held on September 4, and withdrawals accepted until September 6. Counting will take place on September 26.

Though allies in the state, the UPPL, BJP and AGP are contesting the BTC elections separately. In 2020, the UPPL had won 12 seats, the BJP nine and the GSP one, while the BPF had emerged as the single-largest party with 17 seats.

This year, 26,57,937 voters—including 13,34,521 women—will decide the fate of the council across 3,359 polling stations spread over Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa, Tamulpur and Udalguri districts.

With inputs from PTI