Assam BTC Election Results 2020: BJP, BPF, UPPL Fail To Cross Halfway Mark; Coalition Government Likely

The ruling Bodoland Peoples' Front (BPF) has won 17 seats in Assam's Bodoland Territorial Council polls. UPPL has won 12 seats while BJP has won nine.

Representative Image (PTI)

Assam's Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) will witness a coalition-ruled council for the first since its formation in 2003 as NDA has secured a majority with the United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) winning 12 seats and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning 9 seats out of 40 council seats. The Bodoland Peoples' Front (BPF) won 17 seats and one each by Congress and Gana Shakti Party (GSP) led by Kokrajhar MP Naba Kumar Sarania. BJP General Secretary Dilip Saikai said that the party is in touch with the UPPL to form the next BTC council. Taking to Twitter, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, "NDA secured a comfortable majority in Assam BTC election. Congratulations to our ally UPPL, CM @sarbanandsonwal, @himantabiswa, @RanjeetkrDass and @BJP4Assam unit.

NDA secured a comfortable majority in Assam BTC election.

Congratulations to our ally UPPL, CM @sarbanandsonwal, @himantabiswa, @RanjeetkrDass and @BJP4Assam unit. I thank people of Assam for their continued faith in PM @narendramodi’s resolve towards a developed North East. — Amit Shah (@AmitShah) December 13, 2020

I thank the people of Assam for their continued faith in PM @narendramodi’s resolve towards a developed North East."

Discussion on new council members held on Sunday

Meanwhile, a crucial meeting between BJP, UPPL, and GSP was held in Guwahati on Sunday to discuss the formation of a new council in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) in presence of Assam state BJP president Ranjit Kumar Dass, BJP National General Secretary Dilip Kumar Saikia, Assam Finance Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, UPPL president Promod Bodo and GSP president Naba Kumar Sarania. The newly elected council members of BJP were also present in the meeting. The state BJP leadership and newly elected council members of the saffron party, UPPL leadership have arrived at the official residence of Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to meet the Chief Minister. On the other hand, BPF chief Hagrama Mohilary said in a press conference held in Kokrajhar on Sunday that BPF is still an ally party of the BJP-led Assam government and he appealed to the BJP's central and state leadership to help BPF to form a new council in the BTR. The BTC has 46 members, of which 40 are elected and six nominated. Deemed the "semi-final" before the Assam legislative polls of next year, this was the first such election since the Bodo Peace Accord was signed earlier this year. After BJP's performance in the 2015 elections where it won just one seat- has followed aggressive campaigning by the national party, with Himanta Biswa Sarma, the BJP's go-to man for Assam as well as the northeast region, leading massive rallies across the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) in the run-up to the election. The 2021 Assam assembly polls are only six months away, with the BJP looking to win at least 100 of the 126 seats in the state.