BPF’s Hagrama Mohilary. File
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) president Hagrama Mohilary was sworn in as the Chief Executive Member of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) in western Assam’s Kokrajhar on Sunday (October 5, 2025).The autonomous BTC administers the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), comprising five districts bordering Bhutan.The Governor of Assam, Lakshman Prasad Acharya, also administered the oath of office and secrecy to former State Minister Rihon Daimary as the Deputy Chief of the tribal council. Ten others were sworn in as Executive Members.Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Mr. Mohilary on becoming the chief of BTC for the fourth term after a gap of five years. “The Central and State governments will continue to support the BTC government as we all collectively work to fulfil the great Bodofa Upendranath Brahma’s vision and ensure all-round development,” he said.Bodofa means the Guardian of the Bodos, the largest community inhabiting the BTR.“I pray for your continued guidance and support for the all-round development of the nation, especially for the people of Bodoland,” Mr. Mohilary responded.Apart from the Governor, the swearing-in ceremony at the Bodoland Secretariat Field in Kokrajhar was attended by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, some of his Cabinet Ministers, and Tipra Motha chief Pradyot Manikya Debbarma from Tripura.The Chief Minister promised to extend full support to the new BTC leadership to fulfil the aspirations of the people of the multi-ethnic region.Mr. Mohilary, the former chief of the now-disbanded Bodoland Liberation Tigers, ruled the BTC for 17 years until the 2020 elections to the 40-member council. The BPF, however, was the single-largest party with 17 seats.With 21 seats between them, the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cobbled up the numbers to form the government along with the regional Gana Suraksha Party.The fortunes of the BPF, which aligned temporarily with the Congress after severing ties with the BJP, dipped further when seven of its council members defected to the UPPL and the BJP. The party exceeded expectations to stage a comeback with 28 seats, while the UPPL and the BJP managed almost half the seats they won in 2020.Following the meeting of his party’s policy-making committee on October 3, Mr. Mohilary said the BPF would rejoin the National Democratic Alliance if the UPPL was removed from the BJP-led bloc.“Our position is clear. We can be in the NDA only if the UPPL is out,” he said.The Chief Minister said the BJP would decide on the alliance at an appropriate time while admitting “all three (BPF, UPPL, and BJP) cannot be in the government”. Published - October 05, 2025 02:13 pm IST
