"Helicopter arranged in advance, currently stationed in Guwahati": Hagrama Mohilary on poll campaign preparations

Bodoland People's Front (BPF) chief Hagrama Mohilary, while speaking about the party’s election campaign preparations, revealed that a helicopter for election campaigning had arrived a week ago, though he had not requested it. He said the aircraft was arranged in advance and is currently stationed in Guwahati due to a lack of suitable space to keep it locally. He added that the party would only have to bear 50 percent of the rental cost.

The Bodoland People's Front (BPF) organised a massive public gathering in Bijni, Assam, as part of its statewide “Dispur Chalo” campaign on March 5. The rally witnessed the induction of several prominent leaders from rival camps, even as political parties intensify preparations for the polls.

The event was attended by Hagrama Mohilary, Chief Executive Member of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), who addressed the gathering and outlined the party’s electoral roadmap.

During the programme, several leaders formally joined the BPF, dealing a setback to the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL). Among those who switched allegiance were former councillor and UPPL central committee member Guneshwar Goyary, UPPL founding secretary and former councillor Jyotirendra Brahma, and Prafulla Islary, the founding president of the UPPL’s Gossaigaon district unit.

Addressing the gathering, Mohilary said the event was organised with the objective of strengthening peace, unity, and prosperity in the Bodoland region while energising the party cadre ahead of the elections. He noted that discussions regarding seat-sharing within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) are currently underway.

According to Mohilary, the BPF’s policy-making committee is scheduled to meet on March 9, when the party will take a final call on seat allocation and the constituencies it will contest. He pointed out that although both the BPF and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been making individual announcements, a joint declaration from the NDA regarding seat-sharing is yet to be made.

Expressing confidence in the party’s electoral prospects, Mohilary asserted that the BPF aims to send 15 legislators from 15 constituencies to the Assam Assembly.

Responding to a recent suggestion by Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Minister of Assam, that the BPF and UPPL should work out a mutual understanding, Mohilary clarified that the UPPL is also an NDA ally but added that any negotiation by the party under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) would be its own decision.

“We will negotiate as part of the NDA and see how many seats we can secure,” Mohilary said, adding that discussions about a possible understanding between the BPF and UPPL are not relevant at this stage.

In a lighter moment during his speech, Mohilary humorously remarked that Bijni has no hills, but if the people of Bijni wished for them, “we will build hills for them".