A voter turnout of 70.96 per cent was recorded by 4:30 pm on Monday in the elections for the 40-member Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), officials said, as polling proceeded peacefully across the region. The final turnout figure is still pending as voters who entered the polling booths before the 4 pm deadline were permitted to cast their votes.
The polls will decide the fate of 316 candidates from various parties. This is the first time the BJP is contesting the council elections independently, with candidates from the ruling United People's Party Liberal (UPPL), led by current BTC chief Pramod Boro, and the Bodoland People's Front (BPF), led by former BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary, also in the fray. Both Pramod Boro and Hagrama Mohilary cast their votes in their respective constituencies.
The elections were held in five districts of the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) — Kokrajhar, Baksa, Chirang, Udalguri, and Tamulpur — which have a total of 26,58,153 eligible voters. There were 3,359 polling stations, and polls were held amid tight security, with no reports of any violence in the run-up to the elections or during the day.
Of the 40 seats in the BTC, 30 are reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates, five for non-STs, and the remaining five are open to both. A public holiday was declared across the five districts for the polls.
Repolling, if required, will be held on September 24. The counting of votes is scheduled for September 26, with the entire election process set to conclude by September 28. This is the second council election since a fresh Bodo Accord was signed in New Delhi on January 27, 2020.
Also read: BTC polls in Assam on Monday, 316 candidates in fray
Follow us
