Call for regional parties to jointly form the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) gathered momentum in the run-up to Thursday’s floor test as mandated by Gauhati High Court.

Justice Suman Shyam had on Tuesday ordered a “composite floor test” before December 26 to decide the new BTC chief executive member. Justice Shyam said the process of election of a CEM is a democratic process. “Therefore, it cannot be denied that the newly appointed CEM would be under a constitutional obligation to prove his majority in the floor of the house,” he said.

The court also said the voting rights of the six nominated members “shall remain suspended till such time, the “composite floor test” is held and that the newly appointed CEM Pramod Boro shall “not” take any major policy decision till the holding of the floor test as directed by this court. The floor test has been scheduled from 10am on Thursday.

Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) chief Hagrama Mohilary was the first to issue an appeal for unity among regional parties after the court order.

He said it was not important who becomes the CEM but a regional party should lead the BTC. He added that all regional parties — BPF, United People's Party Liberal, Asom Gana Parishad, Gana Suraksha Party — should come together to run the BTC, an appeal which was seen as a last-ditch effort to “keep out” the BJP which had helped forge a three-party post-poll alliance to end BPF’s uninterrupted 17-year rule of the BTC since 2003.

On Wednesday, former Lok Sabha MP Sansuma Khunggur Bwiswmuthiary issued a similar appeal for unity among Bodo parties to form the BTC by leaving out the national parties.

The Bodo Sahitya Sabha followed suit, appealing to the UPPL and the BPF to come together in the overall interests of the Bodo community.

However, UPPL chief Pramod Boro, who has the numbers going into the floor test, has rebuffed Mohilary’s request, accusing the BPF chief of double-speak. Boro said Mohilary is appealing for unity among regional parties and is himself in touch with the ruling BJP, making it clear he was with the three-party alliance.

The BJP had gone all out to unseat the BPF by making corruption a key poll plank even though both are in alliance in the state government. It went with the UPPL and GSP even after BPF publicly sought its help to form the council.

Since anti-defection law does not apply to the BTC, both the three-party post-poll alliance and the BPF are keeping a close tab on their flocks since the results were declared on December 12. Already the lone Congress member and a BPF member have joined the alliance. Elected members of the alliance were first kept in a Guwahati and then shifted to Shillong. They returned on Wednesday. The BPF too kept some of its members in Phuentsholing, a border town in south Bhutan, about 138 km from Kokrajhar.

The recently-concluded BTC polls had thrown up a hung house with the BPF emerging as the single largest party with 17 of the 40 seats, UPPL 12, BJP 9 and Gana Suraksha Pary (GSP) and Congress one each. However, the UPPL-BJP-GSP forged a post-poll alliance and on staked claim to form the council on December 13 which was accepted by the governor Jagdish Mukhi on the same day, announcing the oath-taking on December 15.

The BPF as the single largest party too had staked claim on December 14 but after the swearing in of the new BTC chief Boro on December 15, Mohilary along with other members moved the court on December 18 against Boro and 16 others. Mohilary had been the chief of the autonomous council covering four districts – Kokrajhar, Baksa, Udalguri and Chirang -- since its establishment in 2003 before Governor’s rule was imposed in April.

Senior counsel Devajit Saikia, who represented the Governor and the BTC, told the Telegraph that the high court has not interfered with the appointment of the CEM, deputy CEM or the three EMs but has directed them to face the floor test on or before December 26.

The petitioners had contended that the appointment of the new CEM (December 14 notification), executive members and nominated members (December 16 notification) were “ex-facie illegal, having been issued in violation of statutory provisions and therefore, are liable to be set aside by this Court”. They had prayed for an interim order suspending the voting rights of the nominated members “until such time, CEM is appointed as per law”.

Senior counsel Nilay Dutta assisted by A Bhuyan represented the petitioners.

The case will come up for hearing on January 11.