A legal quagmire

Elections to the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) is caught in a legal quagmire after Assam Governor Prof. Jagdish Mukhi issued the notification for changing the nomenclature of 'Bodoland Territorial Area District' (BTAD) to 'Bodoland Territorial Region' (BTR). A back-to-back official notification constituting a Commission to alter the BTR area has added to the complexities due to the lack of clarity. The BTC polls were deferred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An all-party meeting convened by the State government failed to end the uncertainty over the elections. The State government presented its view that a decision on the fresh dates could be taken only after a proper review of the prevailing pandemic situation.

The State government had earlier indicated that the BTC polls are not likely to be held before December; and cited the prevailing pandemic situation as the primary reason. Despite the uncertainty, political parties including the ruling BJP, have intensified electioneering in the BTR areas. None of the political parties are following the COVID-safety protocols while mobilising huge rallies for electioneering. Therefore, deferment of the BTC polls on the ground of pandemic situation appears to be paradoxical. The Governor assumed theElections to the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) is caught in a legal quagmire after Assam Governor Prof. Jagdish Mukhi issued the notification for changing the nomenclature of 'Bodoland Territorial Area District' (BTAD) to 'Bodoland Territorial Region' (BTR). A back-to-back official notification constituting a Commission to alter the BTR area hasadministration of this autonomous council under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India after the term of the elected council came to end on April 27. The BTC was placed under the Governor's Rule for sixth months in exercise of power vested under sub paragraph 2 of Para 16 of the Sixth Schedule. Changing the nomenclature to BTR and alternation of the area are part of the third Bodo Accord, popularly known as the BTR accord.

Alteration of the BTR area will be carried out by the inclusion of new villages contiguous to BTR with more than 50 per cent Scheduled Tribe population and exclusion of fringe villages in BTR contiguous to the non-Sixth Schedule areas which have less than 50 per cent ST population. The Commission has been asked to submit its recommendation within six months. It is not clear as to how and when the delimitation of BTR area will be done to facilitate representation from the newly included areas. Fresh elections will have to be conducted after alteration of the BTR area. This will require delimitation of the BTR constituencies. The accord has provision for increasing the number of BTC constituencies to 60 without affecting the existing percentage of reservation for the Scheduled Tribes. If the BTC elections are held before the alteration of BTR area, then the status of the new villages to be included or any existing villages to be excluded will be hanging in uncertainty. Till the time the delimitation of exercise is carried out in BTR after alteration of area is finalised based on the recommendation of the commission, the BTC will not be able to run governance in the new villages. Similarly, its jurisdiction over any villages to be excluded from the BTR will continue.

Such a situation could have been avoided if the notification on changing the nomenclature of area from BTAD to BTR and alteration of area was kept on hold till the BTC elections are conducted. The Bodoland People's Front (BPF), a constituent of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition government in the State, ruled the BTC for three consecutive terms. The BPF has intensified its demand for holding the BTC polls before October 27 when the Governor's Rule will come to end. If the elections are not held before this date, then it will require extension of the Governor's Rule. Opposition parties as well as BPF perceives that the State government is not showing urgency to hold the BTC polls and hurriedly issuing notification on BTR and constitution of the Commission for alteration of the area under the Council during the Governor's Rule when the Model Code of Conduct was still in force as a delaying tactic. The BTR accord drew the curtains on over the three-decades of insurgency in the Bodo heartland.

The autonomy under the amended provision of the Sixth Schedule was articulated after long years of peace talks with the armed groups and offered to them in lieu of their Statehood demand. An elected BTC Council will be the legitimate representative body of the Bodo people in BTR to fulfil their aspirations. When the BTC polls were deferred, the pandemic situation was not as bad as now. However, an effective response mechanism was elusive in April which required the State Election Commission to defer the polls to ensure safety of people in BTR. The Election Commission of India has already issued guidelines for holding elections in the pandemic situation as there is no alternative to the innovative mechanism to co-exist with COVID-19 till vaccine is available. The State government may find it difficult to justify further postponement of the BTC polls. The legal issues that may arise after alternation of the BTR area are going to be much more complicated then holding the BTC polls, and require immediate attention.