On February 28, with assembly elections less than a month away, the Congress-led alliance in Assam got a boost when the Bodo People’s Front...
On February 28, with assembly elections less than a month away, the Congress-led alliance in Assam got a boost when the Bodo People’s Front joined it.
Until then, the “mohajut” – as the alliance is called – included the All India United Democratic Front that largely represents the interests of Assam’s Muslims of Bengali origin, three Left parties and a newly formed regional party in addition to the Congress.
Led by the mercurial Hagrama Mohilary, the Bodo People’s Front which represents one of the largest tribal communities in Assam, was an important ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party till recently. (In fact, three of its legislators continue to be ministers in the state government).
Both the parties fell out in the run-up to elections held in December for the Bodoland Territorial Council, the body that governs the autonomous Bodoland Territorial Region comprising four districts and twelve Assembly seats in western Assam.
The elections showed the Bodo People’s Front’s influence had declined: after 17 years, it lost control of the council to the BJP and its new ally in the region, the United People’s Party Liberal, another Bodo nativist party.
Yet, the party’s inclusion in the grand alliance, many believe, is significant because it gives the Congress what they...
