STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The BJP-BPF tryst is almost over, and the parting between them will be just a formality. This is the direct fallout of the BJP fielding its candidates in the BTC election.
The strained relationship between the two coalition partners at Dispur has come to such a pass that there's every possibility of the BJP fielding candidates in the 12 LACs (Legislative Assembly Constituencies) in the BTR (Bodoland Territorial Region) in the Assembly election in the State slated for 2021. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and State BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Dass are likely to have a meeting in New Delhi to this effect next week.
This is despite the fact that three BPF Ministers are still in the Cabinet led by Chief Minister SarbanandaSonowal. The relation between the two parties is such that the BPF ministers may quit their portfolios at anytime.
With the BTC poll coming closer, the relationship between the two parties is going to the point of no return. And the immediate reason is the showdown between Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and BPF chief Hagrama Mohilary in the run-up to the BTC poll.
When the BJP came to power at Dispur in 2016, the BPF was its main pre-poll ally. What's significant is that the Bodo voters are not confined to the BTR alone. In fact, Bodo voters play an important role in the entire North Bank. It was Hagrama Mohilary who wooed these voters for its allies over the years. And now, the BJP has already started its move to woo the Bodo voters of the BTR and North Bank.
Everything depends on the BTC poll result which is expected by December 15. Who'll rule the BTC? The answer to this question has much to do with the political equation in the 2021 Assembly election in the State.
The BTC poll seems to witness a triangular contest among the BPF, the BJP and the non-Bodos being led by MP Naba Sarania. The BJP has been making various promises to woo voters in the BTR right from land rights to non-Bodos to jobs for unemployed youths.
According to sources, since the Congress-AIUDF alliance is likely to dent the BJP's share of votes in lower Assam and North Bank, the saffron party is doing all to woo the Bodo voters to make up the likely slide in votes.