GUWAHATI, Aug 5: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that due to the BJP’s efforts, peace has been firmly established in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).
The turnaround in the BTR from violence to peace has been ‘our single biggest achievement’, the chief minister, who is holding meetings for the forthcoming council polls in different parts of the region since Sunday, said.
‘BTR was historically mired by violence. We have come here for election meetings and the elders of BTR know that there was a time when people could not vote as people with AK-47s roamed the streets and forced people to vote for candidates of their choice’, Sarma said.
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Earlier, candidates sought votes with guns in their hands, but since the BJP government was elected by the people at the Centre and Assam, ‘this trend has been reversed and now they come with folded hands’, he said.
‘What we have done over the last five years in the region has been transformative – from health, infrastructure, education, drinking water and much more. For us, BTR’s turnaround has been one of the biggest success stories of New Assam’, Sarma said.
The BTR of today is a shining example of peace, prosperity and mutual co-existence, he added.
The chief minister said that the decision regarding the removal of people from encroached land in the BTR will have to be taken by the council, and ‘if they seek our help, we will cooperate with them’.
He said that the state government takes decisions through a consultative process and on “these lines we are working on conferring land rights to our indigenous communities in tribal belts and blocks through mutual understanding’.
‘I have been touring across the BTR during the last three days, and there is a tremendous level of support from people of all ages. I believe that BJP will show good results in the forthcoming council polls’, he said.
Elections to the 40-member Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) is expected to be held in September this year, and the BJP has decided to contest the polls independently.
The United Peoples’ Party Liberal (UPPL), BJP and Gana Suraksha Party (GSP) are alliance partners in administering the current council.
Asked if the BJP was planning to form the next council on its own strength, Sarma said that the formation of the government in BTR was not a matter of discussion now.
‘We have to now make a decision on how many seats to contest in the polls, and this will be taken by August 20.
Regarding talks of the Pramod Boro-led UPPL and Hagrama Mohilary headed Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) will unite for the forthcoming polls, the chief minister said that the BJP welcomes it
‘If this happens, it will help us (the state government) to talk to one party on any matter’, he added.
On the possibility of its other alliance partner AGP contesting the polls, Sarma said that the regional party should put up candidates if there is a chance of its winning the seat, and not just to defeat the BJP.
In the last council polls held in December 2020, the UPPL had won 12 seats, BJP nine and GSP one seat while the Bodoland Peoples’ Front (BPF), which had headed the council for the previous three terms, emerged as the single largest party with 17 seats and Congress secured one seat with its elected member later joining the BJP.
The lone Congress member, Sajal Kumar Sinha, joined the BJP on Monday and was subsequently expelled from the Congress.
The BPF was then BJP’s alliance partner in the state government, but the ruling party decided to join hands with the UPPL and the GSP to jointly form the council
The council polls were held after a fresh Bodo Accord was signed in New Delhi on January 27, 2020 by the leaders of all four factions of the NDFB, then All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) chief Pramod Bodo, Mohilary and then chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal. (PTI)
