After 17 years the leadership in the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) has changed hands. The BTC was created to appease the Bodo demand for a separate state which saw several insurgent outfits emerge and a saga of bloodshed and killing in Bodoland as the state launched its counter-insurgency operations. In Kokrajhar, the Bodoland capital, there is a memorial where the names of nearly three thousand martyrs are recorded. These included those that died in fratricidal killings since there was no love lost between the different insurgent outfits of Bodoland even though they all claim to fight for the Bodo cause. It was also a case of turf wars between the outfits.
The loss of over three thousand lives is a big price to pay for any demand however legitimate. In 2003 the Bodoland Liberation Tigers (BLT) headed by Hagrama Mohilary came over ground and signed a peace deal – the Bodoland Accord which also saw the creation of the Bodoland Territorial Council which many political observers say is a state within a state. The BTC has more powers than the other district councils created under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. The BTC is funded directly by the Centre and hence does not suffer from funds crunch like the other autonomous district councils do.
After 17 years, the leadership of the BTC has changed hands. The new Chief, Pramod Boro has led the All Bodo Students; Union (ABSU) for over a decade and has always chosen the path of peaceful protests. He now heads the United Peoples’ Party Liberal (UPPL) which won 12 seats in the 40 members Council. The UPPL has teamed up with the BJP which won 9 seats and another councilor from the GSP to form the new Council. Hagrama’s party the Bodoland Peoples’ Front (BPF) won 17 seats and was ready to team up with the BJP but they were rejected as the popular mandate appeared to be in favour of the UPPL-BJP combine. Hagrama had lost the confidence of the public since corruption was rampant in the BTC under his watch. Besides, Hagrama has won successive elections through coercion and by using the strategies of a militant outfit. Initially people voted for the BPF with the hope that their fortunes would change but they realised that Hagrama was more interested in serving his interests. The next time around people voted out of fear of reprisal rather than because they trusted the BPF and Hagrama to bring in the much sought after development for which they had sacrificed so much.
Now the people of Bodoland have hopes of seeing a new leadership from a person who has been consistent in pursuing the path of a peaceful struggle for Bodoland.