Assam seat-sharing sealed: BJP-AGP-BPF finalise pact, UPPL dropped from alliance
Seat-sharing among alliance partners — the BJP, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and BPF — has been finalised. Sarma said the constituencies for each party are expected to be announced later in the day, after a parliamentary meeting.
- Mar 18, 2026,
- Updated Mar 18, 2026, 5:29 PM IST
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on March 18 announced that the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) is no longer part of the BJP-led alliance in the state, while the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) will remain in the coalition ahead of the Assembly elections.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Sarma said, “The UPPL will contest 15 seats, and our best wishes are with them. Our alliance is with the BPF,” signalling a shift in political alignments in the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) region.
The BTC, an autonomous region created in 2003 under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, sends 15 MLAs to the 126-member Assam Assembly. The UPPL and BPF are key rivals in the region, making the alliance decision politically significant.
Seat-sharing among alliance partners — the BJP, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and BPF — has been finalised. Sarma said the constituencies for each party are expected to be announced later in the day, after a parliamentary meeting. “After our parliamentary meeting this evening, we can probably announce the names of the seats,” he added.
Under the arrangement, the AGP will contest 26 seats, the same number it fought in the previous Assembly elections, while the BPF has been allotted 11 constituencies.
Assembly elections for the 126-member House will be held on April 9, with counting scheduled for May 4.
The UPPL had been part of the BJP-led government for the full five-year term under Sarma, while the BPF extended support later. Both parties were represented in the state Cabinet during this period.
The BPF has had a shifting political trajectory, having been part of the BJP-led coalition in 2016 and earlier aligning with Congress-led governments since 2006. In the BTC, the BPF held power from 2005 until it was ousted by the UPPL in 2020, but returned to power again in the 2025 Council polls.
In the outgoing Assembly, the BJP holds 64 seats. Its allies include the AGP with nine MLAs, the UPPL with seven, and the BPF with three members. On the opposition benches, the Congress has 26 legislators, the AIUDF 15, and the CPI(M) one, along with one Independent MLA.
Candidates for the upcoming elections are yet to be announced by the BJP, AGP and BPF.