The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance has once again strengthened its political hold over Assam’s Sixth Schedule areas after winning 20 out of 21 Assembly seats spread across the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) and North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC). The election outcome has reinforced a political pattern that has been visible in Assam’s autonomous council regions for many years. In most elections, the local political leadership and council administrations tend to align themselves with the ruling government in Dispur, mainly due to administrative and financial dependence on the state government. The only setback for the NDA in the Sixth Schedule belt came from Parbatjhora constituency under the BTC region, where the Congress managed to secure a victory. The remaining seats in the autonomous council areas went comfortably in favour of the BJP and its allies.
In the Bodoland Territorial Council region, the BJP and its ally, the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), dominated the elections. The result marked a major political comeback for the BPF, which had lost control of the BTC after the 2020 council elections. Ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls, the BJP decided to shift its alliance from the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) back to the BPF after the latter regained control of the BTC in 2025. The decision appears to have worked in favour of the NDA alliance. Under the seat-sharing arrangement, the BPF contested 11 seats while the BJP fought in four constituencies within the BTC region. Together, they won all seats except Parbatjhora. The elections also exposed the sharp decline of the UPPL in the region. The party, which had emerged as a major force after ending the BPF’s dominance in the BTC in 2020, failed to win a single seat this time. UPPL president Pramod Boro suffered a major defeat in Tamulpur constituency, losing to BJP leader and Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary.
The political picture remained unchanged in the hill districts governed by KAAC and NCHAC. The BJP retained all six Assembly seats in these regions, repeating its performance from the 2021 Assembly elections. Regional parties that once held influence in the hill districts continued to lose ground as the BJP expanded its organisational reach in the autonomous regions.
