With the elections to the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) not even a fortnight away, the political landscape of Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) is on the boil. The ongoing high-octane war of words among different political leaders in the run up to the elections bears testimony to that.

Pramod Boro, the veteran ABSU leader who has recently forayed into politics and has become the President of United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL), is running for the office of the Chief Executive Member of BTC seems to be a harbinger of much-needed change.

Pramod Boro has launched a massive campaign keeping the upcoming BTC Elections in mind, to bring change in the region. Boro’s recent campaigns have attracted large gatherings, particularly of women and youth who see the merits of his focus on creating jobs and developing horticulture, agriculture, handloom, and handicrafts infrastructure.

In addition to empowering farmers with new-age farming equipment and infrastructure, developing the neglected MSME sector is one of the key agendas of Boro’s campaign. In his rallies, Boro’s focus has been on uplifting the society from the grassroots level.

 “We will create 10,000 job opportunities for the unemployed within a span of two years and around five lakh self-employment opportunities in five years if voted to power,” said Pramod Boro.

Realising the importance of empowering the young boys and girls with the necessary and relevant skills to be able to tap into their boundless potential in the best possible manner, Boro has also announced setting up more than 100 skill-development and community colleges across BTR during his election campaigns.

BTR has an agrarian economy. 75 per cent of the people in BTC are dependent on agriculture, sericulture, dairy farming, and livestock rearing as their primary sources of income. Many young people have also joined the sector, primarily to supplement the efforts of their families.

“With a view to modernise the agricultural sector and to make it more remunerative and appealing, if voted to power, we will equip the farmers of BTR with state-of-the-art equipments, besides providing 100 per cent irrigation facilities in the fields. We will also provide incentives to the farmers for promoting Organic Farming, which in turn would improve the quality of farm products,” said Boro.  

Highlighting the importance of education for the youth and making it fruitful for the school-going and college-going students of the region, UPPL President said, “We will improve the road connectivity to all educational institutions of BTR. Appropriate measures would also be taken to improve the student-teacher ratio in schools and colleges to ensure quality education.”

Realising the many-sided benefits of the internet and virtual learning, Boro has also announced to provide free and fast Wi-Fi in every school, college, university and ITI.

While digitalization has become the order of the day, UPPL feels that the young students of the BTR must not trail behind and, to bring them on an equal footing with their counterparts, they must be provided with a level playing field. This burning need finds resonance in Boro and his party’s vision for the region.