Guwahati, December 10: The second and final phase of elections to the 40-member Bodo Territorial Council (BTC) was held on Thursday and the polling was incident free with around 80 per cent of the 10,23,404 electorate casting their votes, officials said. State Election Commissioner (SEC) Alok Kumar told the media that there was no report of any major unpleasant incident and the polling was largely peaceful.

The BTC polls were held in Kokrajhar and Chirang district in western Assam bordering West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan. A total of 111 candidates are in the fray in the second phase of polling while the first phase of balloting was held on Monday in 21 seats. Jammu and Kashmir DDC Elections 2020: Phase 5 of Polling Ends With 51% Voter Turnout.

In Thursday's electoral battle in 19 constituencies, the fates of Bodoland People's Front (BPF) chief Hagrama Mohilary and former Deputy Chief Khampa Borgoyary have been sealed. The counting of votes will take place on December 12. The BTC election was scheduled on April 4 but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The politically significant BTC elections witnessed a multi cornered contest. The ruling BJP and its junior ally in Assam -- Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF)-- are fighting the polls separately. The Congress, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) and Gana Suraksha Party (GSP) are also contesting the polls.

The BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) Convenor and Assam's Finance and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma carried out a hectic campaign in the electioneering while Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had also addressed several election rallies. The tribal-based BPF has been ruling BTC since 2005 after the tribal autonomous body was constituted in 2003.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 10, 2020 11:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).