‘Erasure of CM’ from posters raise eyebrows in poll-bound Assam

A picture, as an adage goes, is worth a thousand words. In poll-bound Assam, an erased picture is said to be worth a thousand sentences.

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

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

The BPF’s posters bore the photos of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary, and the local candidate. However, a few days later, the Front allegedly replaced the posters, especially in Muslim-dominated areas, with the Chief Minister’s photo missing from the fresh set of posters.

Dhanjit Das, a political commentator based in western Assam’s Barpeta district, explained the “CM erasure”. He said the BPF largely rode on the support of Muslims, the second-largest voting bloc in the BTR after the Bodo tribal people, 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 enjoying the majority, the BPF struck an alliance with the BJP, which later made the UPPL walk out of the National Democratic Alliance.

“According to ground-level assessments, Muslims began moving away from the BPF after it aligned with the BJP. The BPF is facing a challenge in Gossaigaon, Parbatjhora, Baksa, Bijni, Manas, and a few more Assembly seats where Muslims can swing the outcome, and this could be a gain for the UPPL,” Mr. Das said.

“Muslims in the BTR felt betrayed after the BPF-BJP marriage, but everything depends on whether the UPPL, Congress, and other parties can cash in on the sentiments,” Jamsher Ali, based in western Assam’s Bongaigaon district, said.

The BPF is also believed to have rubbed Christians across the BTR the wrong way by befriending the BJP. The BTR has a sizeable population of Christians, mostly Adivasis and Bodos.

While the BPF played down the poster tweak, UPPL president and former BTC chief Pramod Boro declined to comment on any “strategy” of rival parties. “All I know is that the UPPL believes in inclusive politics and the right of every Indian, irrespective of religion, to live with dignity,” he told The 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.

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