Bodo leader wants to become kingmaker

The second phase of Assam polls to be held on April 11, is going to be a crucial battle between several political formations. 

It will also be a test of popularity of some top politicians in their bastions in lower and central Assam, one of them is Hagrama Mohilary, the head of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) and the chief of the Bodoland Peoples’Front (BPF), an ally of the BJP.

Mohilary, a former militant leader who once took up arms and waged a war against the government in support of the call for a separate Bodo state and led the Bodo Liberation tigers (BLT) , has been the kingmaker in Assam politics since 2006 when his newly formed BPF surprised political watchers by winning 11 seats.

The Congress fell short of the magic number of 64 in 126-member Assam Assembly and won 53 seats, against 71 in 2001 when Tarun Gogoi came to power. At that time Hagrama, came to Gogoi’s rescue and formed a post poll alliance.

Again in 2011, the BPF won 12 seats and was part of the Tarun Gogoi government. 

The honeymoon between Gogoi and Mohilary started turning soar after the 2012 ethnic riots between the Bodos and the Muslims in Kokrajhar, the headquarters of the BTC.

In 2014, the BPF snapped ties with the Congress. Many believe that the good relations between top BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma and Mohilary was the clincher for an alliance with the BJP.

During the campaign, Mohilary has been claiming that he has the winning charm but this time around in Bodoland region his party is facing anti-incumbency. 

Non-Bodo communities are unlikely to vote for BPD candidates.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the BPF had lost the  prestigious Kokrajhar seat to Nana Kumar Sarania alias Hira, a former top ULFA leader who was independent candidate, supported by non-Bodo communities.