Bodoland's Ballot of Hope: Record 71% turnout seals bloodless verdict

Guwahati: The 5th Bodoland Territorial Region elections has been successfully and peacefully conducted on Monday, said Pramod Boro ,CEM of BTC and President of UPPL.

"The 5th BTC Elections 2025 has been successfully and peacefully completed, and I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all citizens of BTR for participating in this grand democratic process with such enthusiasm.

To all our dedicated party workers, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your incredible energy and commitment. Our journey of peace, unity and progress will continue uninterrupted, the CEM wrote this evening on X.

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Later this evening a press release was circulated in this regard by the State Election Commission.

In a resounding affirmation of democratic resilience, over 70 percent of voters in Assam's Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) defied the shadows of a violent past to cast their ballots on September 22, 2025, marking the  Bodo Peace Accord that quelled decades of insurgency.

Across 40 constituencies spanning the five strife-torn districts of Kokrajhar, Baksa, Chirang, Udalguri, and Tamulpur, 2.66 million eligible voters nearly equal in gender split, with 1.33 million women leading the charge flocked to 3,359 polling stations under a blanket of unprecedented security, scripting what officials hailed as a "flawless festival of democracy." With polls closing at 4 p.m. after an eight-and-a-half-hour marathon that began at 7:30 a.m., the provisional turnout clocked in at 70.96 percent by 4:30 p.m.

The stakes could not be higher for Bodoland's 4.5 million souls, where the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) an autonomous body carved from the ashes of the 2003 Bodo Liberation Tigers' uprising holds the reins on everything from land rights to cultural preservation in a region that accounts for nearly 10 percent of Assam's territory.

 This triangular showdown pits the incumbent United People's Party Liberal (UPPL), riding the coattails of the 2020 accord's promise of peace dividends under Chief Executive Member Pramod Boro, against the battle-hardened Bodoland People's Front (BPF) of former insurgent-turned-politico Hagrama Mohilary, and a resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staking its first solo claim after years in alliance.

With 316 candidates vying for the 40 seats,30 reserved for Scheduled Tribes, five for non-STs, and five unreserved,the fray boils down to a high-wire act over development largesse versus indigenous grievances, as Boro's UPPL eyes a second term to cement infrastructure gains, while Mohilary's BPF rallies cries of "betrayal" by the central government.

Early hours saw a modest 12.34 percent participation by 9 a.m., swelling to 14.5 percent in the first two hours amid drizzles that did little to dampen enthusiasm, before a midday surge propelled the figures into the seventies.

Queues snaked through makeshift shades at rural booths, where first-time voters many from remote Adivasi hamlets mingled with elders reminiscing about ballot boxes under gunfire.

 Pramod Boro was among the first to ink his thumb, urging via social media: "Let this election be one where BTR votes for peace, unity, and progress," as polls entered their final stretch with nary a scuffle.

Himanta Biswa Sarma, whose BJP is gunning for a breakout, echoed the call: "Come out in large numbers... strengthen the journey towards a Shantipoorn, Surakshit, and Viksit BTR."

Security, a non-negotiable in this powder-keg polity, was ironclad: thousands of state police, paramilitary troops, and even aerial surveillance blanketed the terrain, transforming once-tense border villages into fortified fortresses of franchise. No EVM glitches, no proxy voting whispers  just the hum of helicopters overhead and the click of inked fingers.

 "No untoward incidents so far," confirmed BTC officials, a refrain echoed across districts where even Mohilary, polling cast his vote alongside family, signaling a tacit truce in the rhetoric.

Parties ended their campaigning on September 19, a day ahead of its official culmination, following the death of popular singer and composer Zubeen Garg in Singapore.