Elections to the 40-member Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), a Sixth Schedule autonomous body, will be held on September 22, with counting of votes scheduled for September 26.

The Assam state election commission on Tuesday announced the schedule for the BTC polls, which are shaping up as a triangular contest among the BJP, its ruling ally United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL), and the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), a former BJP partner.

The BPF had ruled the BTC since its creation in 2003 until the December 2020 elections, when it emerged as the single largest party with 17 seats, while the BJP won nine and the UPPL 12. The BJP and UPPL stitched up a post-poll alliance to form the council, ending BPF’s 17-year dominance. The BJP-UPPL alliance continues in Dispur, with the UPPL holding a ministerial berth in Himanta Biswa Sarma’s cabinet.

Although the BJP is contesting this election alone, it has refrained from targeting either the UPPL or BPF, keeping its doors open for a possible post-poll arrangement. Chief minister Sarma, who has been campaigning almost daily in the BTC since early August, has pitched peace, development and stability as the main poll plank and expressed confidence of success.

Observers point out that the BJP’s solo run is linked to the 2026 Assam Assembly polls, where the 15 BTC seats and another 26 outside the council area with significant Bodo influence will be crucial. “With the BJP anticipating a tough contest in Upper Assam, its stronghold, it is trying to consolidate its position in the BTC with an eye on the Assembly elections. The party wants to test its strength in the Bodo belt, and if it does well, it will have greater leverage in ticket distribution,” a Kokrajhar-based analyst said.

In the 2021 Assembly polls, the BJP won only two of the 15 BTC seats, while the rest went to the UPPL and BPF. “In 2026, the BJP will almost certainly have to ally with one or both Bodo parties. Its performance in next month’s BTC elections will determine the bargaining power it holds,” the analyst added.

According to the SEC, the last date for filing nominations is September 2, scrutiny of nominations will take place on September 4, and the deadline for withdrawal of nominations is September 6.

Altogether, 26,57,937 voters, including 13,23,399 males, will exercise their franchise across the five Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) districts — Kokrajhar, Udalguri, Baksa, Chirang and Tamulpur, the last of which was carved out in 2022.