Kokrajhar, April 11: The Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF) is having the last laugh despite the April 8 elections to the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) throwing up a hung house.

The party, facing severe anti-incumbency, today emerged as the single largest party, coming tantalisingly close to the magic number of 21 (see chart), needing only one more seat to run the council for the third straight term.

While the BPF got 20 seats, the PCDR-backed Independent candidates won seven, the AIUDF and the BJP, which are making their debut in the BTC, got four and one seats respectively. Others bagged 8 seats. The Congress, which had won three seats in the last BTC election in 2010, drew a blank.

The BTC has 46 members of whom 40 are elected and six nominated from non-represented communities.

In the 2010 polls, the BPF, which has been in power since 2005, had bagged 33 seats. This time, it faced a tough fight.

Several heavyweights lost. The casualties included BTC Speaker Paniram Brahma, executive members James Basumatary and Derhasat Basumatary, all from the BPF, Monoj Kumar Brahma, who shifted to the BJP before the polls and Rabiram Narzary of the PCDR.

BTC deputy chief Kampa Borgoyory retained the Chirang Duar seat by defeating Amar Singh Brahma of the PCDR by only 38 votes.

A jubilant Hagrama Mohilary said tonight that some candidates have given their word to help the BPF form the council. "We have won 20 seats and with the Independents ready to extend help, we are already in majority. We accept the verdict of the people. It was a tough contest, including from the Independent candidates. Our party will try to work for the greater interest of the people of the BTC and development of the BTC region," he said.

Political watchers attributed the challenge faced by the BPF to the party's "failure" to extend welfare schemes to all communities, check corruption at the village level and provide security to the people, alluding to the frequent killings and extortion in the Bodo belt.

The road ahead

The result will force politics in the BTAD to be more inclusive, sources said.

The BPF, set to head the council, will now have to take all sections together because other parties/groups such as the PCDR, the AIUDF and the BJP have made inroads.

"Politics has just become more competitive and inclusive. Whosoever forms the council will have to work for all. It cannot be seen as being selective in dispensing administration and welfare schemes, a common complaint of non-BPF members. Failure to do so could see the other political formation growing stronger," said a Chirang trader.

BJP legislator Ranjit Das said, "We worked for only two months in the BTC and our vote percentage has increased, so we are confident of our future in the council area."

The non-Bodos have also conveyed through the result that they will not be swayed by emotion because of "age-old" ties.

The election of Naba Kumar Sarania alias Hira Sarania in the Lok Sabha, which was backed by non-Bodo groups, had led to a lot of bloodshed, unrest and mistrust. "They (the non-Bodos) will vote for peaceful co-existence. Any party not looking after their interest will be discarded. Everybody wants peace, safety and development," he said.

Congress rout

It's another wake-up call for the ruling Congress which has been in a freefall since the Lok Sabha elections last year, more so in lower Assam where the BPF and the AIUDF will continue to call the shots in the 2016 Assembly polls.

The Congress's failure to open its account is being attributed to intra-party intrigue, candidate selection, lack of funds, organisational set-up and the entry of AIUDF in the field.

The poll outcome could lead to uncomfortable questions for both the newly appointed Assam PCC president Anjan Dutta and three-time chief minister Tarun Gogoi.

"People did not vote for the Congress because it was also seen as party to the ills afflicting the BTAD. It was in alliance with the BPF till recently," said a party insider.

Bongaigaon-based Congress leader Girish Barua said, "The Congress had no base in the BTC. Despite our efforts in so short a time, we did not get the desired result."

The Congress was concentrating on 14 of the 40 seats it had contested just like the BPF, PCDR and the BJP. The AIUDF contested eight seats.

Senior party leaders had got a whiff of the outcome. The party headquarters in Guwahati wore a forlorn look. Dutta was in his hometown. Gogoi appeared worried while talking to partymen who had called on him.