Now, Kokrajhar MP and chief of Gana Surakha Party (GSP), Naba Kumar Sarania has demanded BTC election before October 27.
Sarania earlier termed the Governor’s rule in BTC as constitutional and legal as per the 6th Schedule of the Constitution.
However, the Kokrajhar MP now does not want any further extension of the Governor’s rule in the BTC to ‘save democracy’ in the BTC region.
Sarania said the people of the Bodo belt are batting for a change in guards in the ensuing general elections to BTC but if the polls are postponed and Governor’s rule is extended, it will not be in the interest of the democracy-loving people.
“There has been no message from the Election Commission regarding any tentative date for the BTC polls but it is only Assam finance and health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma who is giving statements before media. So the polls should not be delayed and be held before October 27,” he said.
Also read: Assam: BTC election by December, says Himanta Biswa Sarma
Earlier, minister Sarma had said: “It is not feasible to hold BTC election any time soon and it is most likely to be pushed further to December.”
The BTC election was scheduled to be held on April 4, 2020, but it had to be postponed for the COVID19 pandemic.
The 6-month Governor’s rule in BTC will expire on October 27, 2020.
Naba Kumar Sarania-led Gana Suraksha Party is backing a number of independent candidates for the BTC election.
The party claims it represents the majority of the non-Bodo population comprising more than 70% in the Bodo belt.