‘Erasure of CM’ from BPF’s posters raises eyebrows in Assam

As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. In poll-bound Assam, it is said that a deleted photo is worth a thousand sentences.

The Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) strategically put up posters of its candidates in the 11 constituencies it is contesting in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), soon after it signed a seat-sharing agreement with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in March. The BJP is contesting the remaining four seats in BTR.

BPF runs the Kokrajhar-based Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), which governs BTR comprising five districts and 15 Assembly constituencies. Bodos, a Scheduled Tribe, are the largest community in BTR.

BPF’s posters featured photographs of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary and the local candidate. However, a few days later, it was claimed that the Front changed the posters, especially in Muslim-majority areas, and that the Prime Minister’s photo was missing in the new poster set.

Political commentator Dhanjit Das, who lives in Western Assam’s Barpeta district, described the “deletion of the CM”. He said the BPF is relying heavily on the support of Muslims, the second largest voting bloc after the Bodo tribal people in BTR, to win the BTC elections in September 2025.

The victory ended the five-year alliance government of the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL), the BPF’s regional rival, and the BJP. Despite having a majority, the BPF formed an alliance with the BJP, which later led to the UPPL withdrawing from the National Democratic Alliance.

“Based on ground-level assessments, Muslims have started moving away from BPF after aligning with the BJP. BPF is facing a challenge in Gossaigaon, Parbatjhora, Baksa, Bijni, Manas and a few more Assembly seats where Muslims can change the outcome and this could be a win for UPPL,” Mr. Das said.

“Muslims in BTR felt betrayed after the BPF-BJP marriage, but everything depends on whether UPPL, Congress and other parties can capitalize on these feelings,” said Jamsher Ali, a resident of Western Assam’s Bongaigaon district.

BPF is also believed to be misleading Christians in BTR by consorting with BJP. BTR has a sizeable Christian population, mostly Adivasis and Bodos.

While BPF played down the poster issue, UPPL president and former BTC chief Pramod Boro refused to comment on any “strategy” of the rival parties. “All I know is that UPPL believes in inclusive policy and the right of every Indian to live with dignity, regardless of religion,” he said. Hindu.

Mr. Boro, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha in March, is contesting from the Tamulpur Assembly constituency. His main rival is Assembly Speaker and BJP candidate Biswajit Daimary.

UPPL, which is contesting on four seats beyond BTR, hopes to improve on the six constituencies it won in the 2021 elections. BPF won four seats in 2021, down eight from its 2016 performance.