BTR Polls 2025: Voting Underway Across 5 Districts, 316 Candidates in Fray

The Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) is voting today to elect its 40-member Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) in a fiercely contested election that is witnessing a three-cornered fight between the ruling United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) that ruled the region for 17 years before being ousted in 2020.

Polling began at 7:30 AM across 3,359 polling stations spread over BTR’s five districts — Kokrajhar, Tamulpur, Udalguri, Baksa and Chirang — where a total of 26.69 lakh voters (26,69,396) are eligible to decide the fate of 316 candidates in the fray. Counting of votes will take place on September 26.

Kokrajhar, with 12 constituencies, has the highest number of candidates at 100, followed by Udalguri with 68 for 10 seats, Chirang with 56 for 7 seats, Baksa with 52 for 6 seats, and Tamulpur with 40 for 5 seats.

This is Chief Executive Member (CEM) Pramod Boro’s bid for a second term. The UPPL president is contesting from two constituencies — Dotoma and Goibari — seeking to consolidate his party’s hold on BTR. In Dotoma, he faces a stiff challenge from BJP’s Manaranjan Brahma, BPF’s sitting MLC Prakash Basumatary, Congress’s Dwimu Roje and APB’s Chila Basumatary. In Goibari, his opponents include BPF’s Jiten Muchahary, Congress’s Rumi Singh Mushahari and APB’s Pradip Rabha.

Former CEM Hagrama Mohilary, hoping to stage a comeback after five years in the opposition, is contesting from Debargaon and Chirang Duars. His main rival in both seats is his former deputy Kampa Borgoyari, now with UPPL. In 2020, Mohilary won Debargaon by 1,985 votes, while Chirang Duars was taken by UPPL’s Ranjit Basumatary.

Other key contests include Bhairabkunda, where Deputy CEM and Udalguri MLA Gobinda Basumatary (UPPL) faces BJP’s Minon Mushahary, BPF veteran and former minister Rihon Daimary, and Congress’s Nowaz Basumatary. Gobinda Basumatary had scraped through with a margin of just 1,082 votes in 2020.

In Kajalgaon, former BPF minister Chandan Brahma, now with UPPL, takes on Paniram Brahma of BPF — who won here by nearly 4,000 votes in 2020 — and Sanjib Wary of the Congress. Chandan’s defection from BPF to UPPL is being closely watched as it could alter the constituency’s voting dynamics.

UPPL, BPF and Congress are contesting all 40 seats. BJP has fielded candidates in 30, APB in 23, Gana Suraksha Parishad in 11, AGP in 4 and AIUDF in 8.

In the last BTC polls in 2020, BPF had emerged as the single largest party with 17 seats, followed by UPPL with 12 and BJP with 9. But post-poll alliances saw UPPL, BJP and GSP forming the council, ending BPF’s 17-year rule.

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