BTC Elections 2025: Polling underway in Assam’s BTR amid tight security

Guwahati: Voters across Assam’s Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) began casting their ballots on Monday morning as polling officially began for the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) elections.

Authorities deployed heavy security to ensure peaceful voting across the five participating districts, Baksa, Chirang, Kokrajhar, Tamulpur, and Udalguri.

The polling started at 7:30 am across 3,359 polling stations and will continue until 4 pm. According to officials, voters turned out in large numbers during the early hours, and no untoward incidents were reported in any of the districts.

A total of 316 candidates are contesting for 40 council seats, with 26,58,153 eligible voters, including 13,34,600 women.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma encouraged voters to participate actively in the democratic process. “Your one vote makes all the difference and is the key to a thriving and developed BTR. Vote wisely, choose wisely,” he posted on X (formerly Twitter).

This election marks a significant political shift, as the ruling BJP is contesting the BTC elections without any alliance for the first time. Other key contenders include the Congress, several regional and smaller parties, and the two major players — the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) and the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF).

UPPL chief and current BTC head Pramod Boro leads the party into the election while maintaining an alliance at the council level with the BJP and the Gana Suraksha Party (GSP). In the last BTC elections, the UPPL won 12 seats, BJP secured 9, and GSP got 1 seat.

The BPF, which ruled the BTC for three consecutive terms before 2020, had emerged as the single largest party in the previous polls with 17 seats. The Congress, though it won only one seat last time, saw its elected member later switch allegiance to the BJP.

The government declared a public holiday in the five districts to facilitate voter participation.

Vote counting will take place on September 26.