The BTR Tribal Sangha Coordination Committee strongly opposed non-tribal candidates running in Scheduled Tribe (ST)-reserved seats in the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) elections on Wednesday. The committee’s head, Niranjan Brahma, told reporters at Kokrajhar’s Bodo Sahitya Sabha Bhavan that non-tribal candidates had been running for seats that were designated for STs by getting ST certificates fraudulently. According to him, at least 13 non-tribal candidates have already submitted their nomination papers this year, especially from Baksa district, even though 30 of the 40 BTC constituencies are set aside for ST candidates.
“Nomination papers have been filed by candidates with surnames like Das, Deka, and Sarania in constituencies like Saraibil, Bhergaon, Salbari, Harisingha, Koklabari, Goreswar, and Baokhungri,” Brahma asserted. He insisted that District Commissioners and Returning Officers carefully review the certificates and remove such candidates from consideration.
Brahma emphasized that tribal groups run the risk of losing their legitimate political representation and threatened to take legal action if the government does not stop non-tribals from running for office in ST-reserved seats. In addition, he called on all political parties to guarantee a peaceful, fair, and free election in the Bitcoin.