The Assam government has advised the State Election Commission to defer the elections to the 40-seat Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) in view of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The elections were scheduled to be held on April 4.
“We have requested the election authority to postpone the BTC polls because of the need to minimise gathering of people as a precautionary measure against the pandemic,” Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday.
“The State Election Commission should issue a notification soon,” he added.
A Raj Bhavan spokesperson said Governor Jagdish Mukhi, who is the constitutional head of the Sixth Schedule areas such as the BTC, had suggested postponement of the council polls.
March 18 was the last day of filing of nominations and the last day of their withdrawal is March 21, the commission's notification on March 11 had said.
On Thursday, the Arunachal Pradesh Health Department had advised the State government to put on hold the municipal and panchayat polls due by May. The Pema Khandu government is expected to take a call soon for ensuring social distancing.
