NDA Gets Boost Ahead 2026 Assam Assembly Polls

Guwahati: In what is said to be a wise political move the BJP-led alliance government on Saturday expanded its cabinet and inducted Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) legislator Charan Boro as minister.

In a ceremony the Assam Governor Mr Lakshman Prasad Acharya sworn in Mr Boro at the Raj Bhavan in Guwahati on Saturday. He is the 19th minister in the Assam cabinet headed by chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Fortysix-year-old Mr Boro represents the Majbat Assembly constituency in Western Assam.

His induction into the cabinet marks the official return of the BPF to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the state.

The BPF which recently won the Bodoland Territorial Council election with a thumping majority in the local body had parted ways with the BJP just before the 2020 Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) elections. The BPF had joined the Congress-led grand alliance of 16 political parties but began supporting the BJP-led government in the Assam Assembly without rejoining the NDA.

It is significant that the BPF’s comprehensive victory in the BTC polls held on September 22 hastened its return to the NDA fold, although party chief Hagrama Mohilary had set a precondition. He wanted the BPF’s main rival in the BTC-ruled region, the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL), to be ejected from the NDA first.

“We are bound by our commitment to continue with the alliance till the end of our term. By December, we will hold parleys with our allies to decide our strategy for the 2026 elections,” the chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters soon after the oath-taking ceremony at Raj Bhawan.

Earlier he however said that the BJP believed in maintaining an alliance with both the BPF and the UPPL.

The BPF is now the third ally of the BJP in the state government. The other two are the UPPL and the Asom Gana Parishad, which has two ministers — party president Atul Bora, and Keshab Mahanta.

Mr Urkhao Gwra Brahma is the lone UPPL minister in the Assam government. The BJP, which contested the BTC polls independently performed poorly in the BTC polls. The outcome of the BTC polls was an indicator of the deteriorating graph of the party in five western Assam districts dominated by Bodo tribes and governed by the BTC. The five districts have 15 of Assam’s 126 Assembly constituencies.

Assam chief minister who greeted the BPF joining the NDA also said, “I had told you all when BPF won the Bodoland Territorial Council elections (last month) that we would welcome them to the NDA. You will see that we will all work together for peace in Bodoland. Today, the inclusion of BPF's Charan Boro as a minister in the NDA government is a milestone for peace in Bodoland.”

He further said, “I thank Hagrama Mohilary for the support he extended to Charan Boro for joining our NDA government. Our aim is to work together to bring lasting peace and progress to all communities living in Bodoland.”