The BPF nearly doubled its representation, while its predecessors collapsed
In the forested autonomous territories of Assam's Bodoland region, a democratic pendulum has swung back with unusual force. The Bodoland People's Front, once sidelined despite winning the most seats in 2020, has returned to power with a commanding majority — nearly doubling its representation and rendering its former coalition partners marginal. The result, born from peaceful polling across five districts on September 22, is the second electoral test of the 2020 Bodo Accord, and it suggests that the communities of this region have rendered a clear verdict on five years of governance without their chosen party at the helm.
- A party that won the most seats in 2020 yet was locked out of power by a rival coalition has now turned that humiliation into a landslide, capturing 28 of 40 seats.
- The UPPL and BJP, who governed together for five years after engineering that coalition, have been reduced to a combined 12 seats — a collapse that rewrites the region's political map overnight.
- Hagrama Mohilary's BPF now holds a clear majority requiring no coalition arithmetic, ending the fragile alliance politics that defined the outgoing council.
- The peaceful conduct of elections across Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa, Udalguri, and Tamulpur — with no repolls — signals a maturing democratic process in a region long marked by ethnic tension.
- The BPF's continued membership in the NDA while reclaiming local dominance introduces new complexity into how New Delhi manages its relationships with Northeast India's regional forces.
The Bodoland People's Front has swept back to power in Assam's Bodoland Territorial Council elections, winning 28 of 40 seats in a result that dramatically reverses the political fortunes of a party that spent five years in opposition despite having won the most seats in the previous cycle.
Led by Hagrama Mohilary, the BPF nearly doubled its 2020 tally of 17 seats. Its former partners — the United Peoples Party Liberal and the BJP — fell to just seven and five seats respectively, a steep decline from the combined majority they had used to form the outgoing council without the BPF. The Gana Suraksha Party, which had held one seat in the previous government, failed to win any representation this time.
Voting took place peacefully on September 22 across the five districts of the BTC region — Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa, Udalguri, and Tamulpur — with no repolls required. It was the second election held under the framework of the 2020 Bodo Accord, the landmark agreement that restructured governance in the territory.
Mohilary won his contest in Debargaon but lost in Chirangduar, where he had also stood. Outgoing BTC chief Pramod Boro of the UPPL retained his seat in Goimari but fell short in Dotma. These individual mixed results were secondary to the broader mandate: the BPF now holds a clear majority and can govern without partners for the first time since losing power in 2020.
The outcome carries weight beyond the council chamber. The BPF remains part of the National Democratic Alliance nationally, even as it reasserts dominance locally — a dynamic that may reshape coalition relationships across Northeast India and redirect the administrative and developmental priorities of a council that governs Bodo-majority areas of Assam.
The Bodoland People's Front swept back to power in Assam's territorial council elections this week, capturing 28 of 40 seats and decisively ousting the alliance that had governed the region for the past five years. The victory marks a dramatic reversal of fortune for a party that had been sidelined despite winning the most seats in the previous election, and it signals a significant realignment in one of India's most closely watched autonomous regions.
The BPF, led by Hagrama Mohilary, nearly doubled its representation from the 17 seats it held after the 2020 elections. The party's previous coalition partners—the United Peoples Party Liberal and the Bharatiya Janata Party—collapsed to just seven and five seats respectively, a stunning fall from their combined 21-seat majority that had allowed them to form the outgoing council. The Gana Suraksha Party, which held one seat in the previous government, did not secure representation this time.
The elections, held peacefully on September 22 across five districts in the Bodoland Territorial Council region—Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa, Udalguri, and Tamulpur—required no repolls and proceeded without incident. This was the second election cycle since the 2020 Bodo Accord, a landmark agreement signed in New Delhi that reshaped governance in the territory and set the framework for these periodic contests.
Mohilary's personal performance reflected the broader party surge. He won his contest in Debargaon but lost in Chirangduar, where he had also stood. Pramod Boro, the outgoing BTC chief and UPPL candidate, managed to hold his seat in Goimari but fell short in Dotma, where he had also contested. These mixed individual results were overshadowed by the decisive collective mandate the BPF received.
The 2020 election had produced a counterintuitive outcome. The BPF emerged as the single-largest party with 17 seats, but the UPPL, BJP, and GSP formed a coalition government without it, effectively sidelining the party that had governed the council for three consecutive terms before that. The Congress won one seat in 2020, though its elected member later defected to the BJP. This time, the arithmetic shifted decisively in the BPF's favor, giving it the clear majority needed to govern without coalition partners.
The result carries implications beyond the territorial council itself. The BPF remains part of the National Democratic Alliance at the national level, even as it has now reclaimed control of the Bodoland region. The shift in power dynamics in the Northeast—a region where coalition mathematics and ethnic politics have long shaped electoral outcomes—may influence how the NDA manages its relationships with regional parties and how governance priorities shift in this autonomous territory. The council oversees significant administrative and developmental functions across the Bodo-majority areas of Assam, making the change in leadership consequential for the region's immediate future.
Notable Quotes
The BPF had been the largest party in 2020 but was sidelined as the UPPL, with support from the BJP and GSP, formed the council instead— Election officials and reporting
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did the BPF lose so badly in 2020 if it had won the most seats?
The 2020 Bodo Accord created a new political opening. The UPPL, BJP, and GSP saw an opportunity to form a coalition without the BPF, and they had the numbers to do it. The BPF was frozen out despite being the largest party.
So this is a comeback election.
Exactly. Five years of being in opposition, and the voters returned them with nearly double the seats. It's a clear rejection of the previous government.
What about Hagrama Mohilary himself? He won one seat and lost one.
His personal record is mixed, but that doesn't matter much. His party won so decisively that he'll lead the council anyway. Individual losses get absorbed in a wave like this.
Did anything go wrong with the voting itself?
No. The elections were clean—held across five districts on a single day, no repolls needed. That's actually significant in a region where elections can be contentious.
What changes now that the BPF is back in charge?
That's the open question. The BPF will control the council's administrative and developmental functions. Policy priorities could shift. And the BPF's relationship with the NDA at the national level might become more complicated or more central, depending on how Delhi wants to manage it.