1st Phase of BTC polls to be held tomorrow; Here's all you need to know

BAKSA: The fervid electioneering for the 1st phase of the polls in the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) came to a halt yesterday, with 10 Constituencies in Udalguri and 11 in Baksa set to head to the polling booths tomorrow. The second phase of the polls will be held on December 10. The votes of both the 1st phase and the 2nd phase of polling will be counted on December 12.

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The elections -- that will see 3 prime contenders -- the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the United People's Party Liberal (UPPL), and the Bodoland People's Front (BPF) go head to head, are being seen as a "semifinal" ahead of the all-important polls in the State of Assam to be held in the first quarter of 2021.

The polls in the BTC were delayed after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. It was initially scheduled to be held on April 4.

Assam Governor Jagadish Mukhi assumed administrative control of the BTC after the expiry of its 5-year term on April 27, 2020.

How many voters will exercise their franchise?

A total of 23,82,036 voters will exercise their franchise in the two phases. Out of these, 11,79,020 are women. The Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) was formed after years of insurgency and the elections have been held since 2005, with the Hagrama Mohilary-led BPF party emerging triumphant every single time.

What are the voting timings?

Earlier, the polling time was from 8 AM to 4 PM, however, it has now been changed to 7.30 AM to 4.30 PM. This has been decided by the apex state election commission sdo that social distancing norms can be maintained.

COVID-19 guidelines that were issued by the Election Commission of India to hold the Bihar Assembly elections will be adopted.

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