“The BPF is a party that always works in the interest of the BTC. If we want to make BTC prosper, we have to work together with the state government." -- BPF chairman
Desperation is the order of the day for Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
To be more BJP and more pro-Hindutva than the most BJP leaders and at the same time 'discarding' dedicated and original BJP and RSS old associates have backfired.
As of now it appears ... after 2026 assembly polls - Himanta may echo what Late Sushma Swaraj had said about 1998 poll debacle in Delhi.
"Ghar ko aag lag gayi .. ghar ki chirag se (The house has been set on fire by the lamp we had kept inside our home)".
Stubbornness of a section of leadership has left 'genuine and original BJP workers' frustrated and leaking their wounds. At all levels - most Congessmen and women and army of opportunists and powerbrokers are mocking at the "marginalised" original BJP leaders.
Hence on the day of reckoning - it appears most genuine BJP voters - upper class Bengali and Assamese Hindu and others including Ahoms and tribals will teach the 'high command' a lesson.
Even Himanta realises that bad phase has started.
Hence, he has now won over the Bodoland People's Front (BPF) and made its leader Charan Boro a minister. The sycophants in Assam journalism and sheer opportunists in Delhi media too may call it a master stroke. But it is like the last straw of a sinking man. It's like enough is enough.
In political sense -- it is too little and too late.
Only a big blunder from Congress can save the day for the Lotus party and its leader Himanta (who was certainly an asset in 2016 and 2021 polls).
The Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) swept Bodoland Territorial Council elections a few weeks back and it showed how much unpopular in many areas the BJP has become notwithstanding the 'double engine' Govt(s) in Dispur and Delhi.
The people may again come back to the BJP in Lok Sabha polls but in the name of 'Modi face'; the voters are reluctant to hand over the reins of Assam to Himanta yet again.
After the oath-taking ceremony, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that with this, the BPF is formally part of the state’s NDA government.
This induction and the formalisation of an alliance between the BPF and BJP leaves the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL), the other major Bodo regional party in the state little confused. The UPPL was saffron party's associate in 2021.
Charan Boro, a two-time BPF MLA from the Majbat constituency, took oath as a minister on Saturday. With his induction, the Assam cabinet now has 15 ministers from the BJP, two from the AGP, and one each from the UPPL and the BPF.
“UG Brahma (UPPL leader Urkhao Gwra Brahma) is part of the council of ministers. We had made our friendship with the UPPL for the 2021 election. For the 2026 election, we will talk anew with the AGP, too, the BPF, and we will have to speak to the UPPL, too. Within November and December, we will have to have our discussions about 2026,” said the chief minister.
Of the 126 seats in the Assam legislative assembly, 10 are from the Bodoland Territorial Region.
In 2021, six of these had been won by the UPPL, which had contested as part of the NDA, and four by the BPF, which was then with the Congress-led ‘Mahajot.’
Political equations between the BJP and the Bodo parties have oscillated dramatically in the last five years.
The BPF, which had been in power at the BTC since 2005, had been an ally of the BJP when it came to power in Assam in 2016.
However, even though the BPF was the single largest party in the 2020 BTC election, the BJP instead tied up with the UPPL to form the BTC.
The BPF joined hands with the Congress for the 2021 Assam Assembly elections and the BJP with the UPPL.
BPF supremo Hagrama Mohilary has been clear that he will ally with whoever is in power at the state level “in the interest of the BTC”.
“The BPF is a party that always works in the interest of the BTC. If we want to make BTC prosper, we have to work together with the state government.
So the interest is just one thing, the progress of the people of BTC and for that we will work with the NDA… We are in the NDA now,” said Mohilary on Saturday.
Mohilary also has announced that BJP member Bijit Gwra Narzary is likely to be appointed as Deputy Speaker of BTC.
The mood in BJP locally is to opt for Sarbananda Sonowal as the face of the party for the polls. However, a powerful section in the high command is backing Sarma and the apprehension is this maybe a very risky proposition.
ends
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