Bodoland People’s Front to contest polls alone in Assam

GUWAHATI — The Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), an erstwhile ally of the Congress in Assam, on Monday announced that it will fight the upcoming Lok Sabha polls alone.

“Our party will field candidates in two Lok Sabha seats in Assam – Kokrajhar and Darang. We are not allying with the Congress or any other party. We will fight the polls alone,” BPF chief Hagrama Mohilary told reporters here.

According to him, the position of the BPF is strong on the ground and the party will sweep polls in these two seats.

“The BPF will win the Darang seat with at least 1 lakh votes. I assure everybody that the winning margin will be even bigger in the Kokrajhar Lok Sabha constituency,” he added.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has claimed several times that the BJP would win at least 11 Lok Sabha seats in the state. It has an alliance with the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) in Bodoland.

Reacting to Sarma’s statement, Mohilary said: “Assam has 14 Lok Sabha seats. Except for two constituencies, the BJP can win the remaining 12 seats.” He also said that UPPL will find it hard to contest with his BPF in the Lok Sabha polls.

The BPF was part of a grand alliance led by the Congress in the previous Assembly elections in Assam. However, after the alliance failed to oust the BJP from power, the BPF moved away from the opposition bloc.