CM touches 36 BTC seats in campaign; BJP candidate list soon based on insights
Sarma reiterated BJP's priority is ensuring peace in BTR, regardless of the outcome of polls
Himanta Biswa Sarma in Kokrajhar (Photo - @himantabiswa / X)
Kokrajhar, Aug 19: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on Tuesday, concluded his campaign across 36 constituencies, marking a significant step in the BJP’s preparation for the upcoming Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) polls.
Addressing the press at Gossaigaon, the Chief Minister noted that the campaign had been carried out across nearly all constituencies barring four seats in BTC.
“Today, our campaign touched the 36th constituency. We have completed meetings in all of them, leaving out only four. This exercise has given us a clear idea of where we should contest in the elections,” Sarma said.
He added that the BJP would soon finalise and announce the number of seats it plans to contest, based on the insights gathered during this campaign trail.
“We have observed that the BJP has a stronghold in almost all constituencies. However, we will carefully review the situation before finalising our list. Our effort will be to field candidates in as many constituencies as possible,” the Chief Minister stated.
Sarma also stressed that his priority is ensuring peace in the BTR, regardless of the outcome of the elections.
“I don’t have any issue if the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) wins or the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) wins. Whoever forms the government, the important thing is that peace must prevail in BTR,” he remarked.
Expressing satisfaction with the overwhelming public response in the campaign trail, Sarma said the turnout at BJP’s campaign meetings had been comparable to joint rallies of BJP with its allies.
“Usually, when we hold joint meetings with UPPL or BPF, we see large gatherings. But this time, we are surprised and delighted to witness such massive support for a BJP-only meeting,” he added.
Earlier, during a meeting in Baksa, Sarma had stated that the BJP would not field candidates against prominent leaders Pramod Boro and Hagrama Mohilary in the upcoming elections.
“Until now, we have decided not to put up candidates in the constituencies of Pramod Boro and Hagrama Mohilary. However, we are yet to see where they themselves will contest. For example, they might not contest from Goibari or Debargaon, so our final decision will depend on their candidate list. But as of now, we intend to avoid contesting against these two leaders,” he said.
All the major political parties in the fray for the BTC are going solo in this September’s polls, including NDA allies UPPL and the BJP.