GUWAHATI: Seventeen years since it was created as a political solution to the Bodo agitation for a separate state, Assam's Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) on Tuesday got a new chief in former student leader Pramod Bodo.
He was sworn in as the Chief Executive Member (CEM) of the autonomous council at a programme held in Kokrajhar. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma were among dignitaries in attendance.
Gobinda Basumatary of the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) took oath as the Deputy CEM. He is a former leader of a faction of the insurgent group National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB).
Gautam Das and Diganta Baruah, both from the BJP and Ghanashyam Das from the Gana Suraksha Party (GSP) were also sworn in. BJP, UPPL and GSP forged a post-poll alliance to rule the BTC which administers four Assam districts.
From 2003 to March this year, the Bodoland People's Front (BPF) had ruled the BTC with insurgent leader-turned-politician Hagrama Mohilary as its chief. The BPF had emerged as the single largest party in the recently-held BTC elections, winning 17 of the 40 seats, but failed to cobble up the numbers to form the council. The BJP-UPPL-GSP combine has 22 seats. The lone elected member from the Congress defected to the BJP on Monday.
As the president of All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU), Pramod Bodo had led the agitation for a separate "Bodoland state" for over a decade. After his swearing-in, he said the ruling coalition would strive to bring change in the society. The new BTC chief praised the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He was one of the signatories of the Bodoland Territorial Region peace accord that the Centre had signed in January with the ABSU and some factions of the NDFB.