GUWAHATI: Peace has been the greatest dividend of the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) peace agreement signed in 2020, and holding on to it will be the biggest challenge for any political party that forms the next government in the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC).The Centre had signed the BTR peace accord with some insurgent groups and the All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU). Pramod Boro, the then ABSU president, was an architect of this pact. He is now the Chief Executive Member of the autonomous BTC as well as president of the political outfit United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL).The BTC, currently ruled by the BJP-UPPL combine, is expected to go to polls, possibly in September. Peace remains unpredictable in BTR, as evidenced by violence and unrest in the past despite the signing of earlier peace agreements.The BTR peace accord, however, has stood the test of time. Over the past five years, there has not been a single major incident of violence in the BTR, which comprises the five districts of Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa, Tamulpur and Udalguri. The BTC administers these districts in western and northern Assam.The BJP has decided to contest the elections independently, as it did in 2020 when it did not have any pre-poll alliance with any party. This decision has left the UPPL with no option but to contest on its own strength. Similarly, the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) and the Congress, which is seeking to grow in the region, will also go solo.
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