GUWAHATI: The first phase of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) elections in Assam will take place on Monday in Udalguri and Baksa district.
Ten constituencies in Udalguri and 11 in Baksa will go to polls in the first phase, in which 132 candidates are in the fray.
A total of 23,82,036 voters, including 11,79,020 women, will exercise their franchise in the two phases of the polls to the local council, which was formed in 2003 and elections are being held since 2005.
The polling and presiding officers started to move to their respective booths since Sunday morning. On the other hand, the elections will be conducted maintaining full COVID-19 protocols.
Elaborate security arrangements have also been made to ensure peaceful and fair elections.
The second phase of polling in 19 seats of Chirang and Kokrajhar will take place on December 10. Votes polled in both phases will be counted on December 12.
The election to the 40-member BTC was scheduled on April 4, but it was postponed due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequently, Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi assumed administration of the council on the expiry of its five-year term on April 27, 2020.
