The Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) is putting up a stiff fight in the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) elections, according to trends available till Friday evening.
Counting of ballots is still under way and may take a few more hours before results are officially declared, a source in the State Election Commission, Assam, said late on Friday evening.
The BPF, which had lost power to the post-poll UPPL-BJP combine in 2020, was leading in 21 of the 40 seats that went to polls on September 22, in what appears to be a see-saw battle.
The BPF was leading in nine of the 12 seats in Kokrajhar, seven of ten seats in Udalguri, and one of five seats in Tamulpur till 7.30pm on Friday. Sources said that given the tight contest, the final outcome could still change.
In the 2020 polls, the then-ruling BPF had emerged as the single largest party with 17 seats, but the BJP (nine) joined hands with the UPPL (12) to form the council.
This time, the BJP, UPPL, and BPF have no pre-poll alliance, even though the UPPL is part of the BJP-led state government. A hung verdict could once again bring UPPL and BJP together.
The Congress, which had won one seat in 2020, is likely to draw a blank.
There were 316 candidates in the triangular contest between the BJP, United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL), and the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF).
Altogether, there were 26,58,153 voters, with females (13,36,600) outnumbering males. Counting of votes will take place on September 26.
The September 22 election had seen a turnout of around 78.42 per cent in the five districts that make up the BTR — 76.92 per cent in Baksa, 80.11 per cent in Chirang, 82.27 per cent in Kokrajhar, 75.09 per cent in Tamulpur, and 75.17 per cent n Udalguri.
Trends suggest the BPF remains a potent force in the Bodo belt, and if it can maintain the lead, it could influence next year’s Assembly polls in the BTR’s 12 seats,
sources said.