BTC polls see two new entrants: Ex-NDFB cadres, Adivasi students body float parties

Chirang, April 2: With just months to go before the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) elections, two new parties joined the fray on Wednesday.

Both the Jan Bharat Party (JBP) and the Alternative Party of Bodoland (APB) were floated separately in Chirang and Baksa, respectively.

JBP was launched by former All Adivasi Students’ Association of Assam (AASAA) advisor Teharu Gaur, while APB was created by former leaders and cadres of the now-defunct National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB).

“We are planning to field candidates in all 40 constituencies in the upcoming BTC polls,” said Gaur, expressing his intent to contest, particularly in Chirang, Baksa, Udalguri, and Kokrajhar districts.

Gaur claimed that significant issues in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) have been ignored by both the Bodoland People's Front (BPF) and the ruling United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL), and that the people want change.

“Hagrama Mohilary was in power for a long time. Now, Pramod Boro is at the helm. Yet, some of our key issues remain unresolved. What good is peace if our people lack land rights and political representation? We have not seen the development we need, particularly regarding land rights and the implementation of the Basundhara schemes,” Gaur said.

He added that the government has kept people in the dark about the 125th Constitutional Amendment Bill of 2019, which was recently passed during the Assam Legislative Assembly’s Budget session.

“There were no consultations with local groups or the public. We plan to distribute photocopies of the legislation so that our people are informed and no longer kept in the dark,” Gaur said.

Regarding the party’s organisational structure, Gaur stated that Legislative Assembly Constituency (LAC) committees, block committees, primary committees, and booth-level committees have been formed.

Meanwhile, in Baksa, APB was launched in the presence of thousands of former cadres of the proscribed outfit. Addressing the press, President Dr. Anjali Daimary said the party aims to practise inclusive politics by bringing everyone into the fold.

“Even after the peace accord, many NDFB cadres remain in jail, and no one is satisfied with how things are progressing. That is why we have formed this new party,” Daimary told the press.

Daimary further added that the party has been floated to address glaring issues and they "aim to contest the upcoming polls on that agenda".