The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday it would stake claim to form the next Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), a self-governing body in the Bodo-dominated areas of the state. The saffron party virtually dumped one of its coalition partners in Assam, the BPF, and picked up a new ally to gain majority and rule the Bodoland Territorial Council.
The Bodoland People's Front, having three ministers in the Sarbananda Sonowal-led coalition government in the state, emerged as the single-largest party in the just concluded BTC polls, winning 17 seats in the 40-member body.
According to BPF president Hagrama Mohilary, his party repeatedly appealed to the BJP to follow the "coalition" norms and help it to form a "government" in the BTC, but the BJP ignored the pleas.
The United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) secured 12 seats, the BJP nine, while the Congress and the Gana Suraksha Party (GSP), headed by Lok Sabha MP Naba Sarania, got one each.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal announced that the BJP, UPPL and GSP have joined hands for the BTC and UPPL chief Pramod Boro will be the new Chief Executive Member (CEM). While the BPF and UPPL are considered rivals in the Bodo-dominated areas, there was no pre-poll alliance among other parties as well.