Assam: BJP-linked political play shows demolition of minority family’s house
Guwahati: A Bharatiya Janata Party-linked local political play during the election campaign in Assam drew criticism for portraying a Muslim family’s house demolition, while the audience laughed at the depiction.
A video of the performance surfaced on social media on Tuesday, May 5.
A cardboard-made bulldozer vehicle, moved by the actors, was seen razing a house shed, shown as belonging to a Muslim family. The play depicted children, women and men with skullcaps and dhotis, clearly indicating a Muslim family, while the “authorities” evicted them.
In one scene, a person playing a female police constable was seen lashing out at the Muslim men with lathis when they tried to stop the bulldozer from demolishing their house.
In another scene, an officer oversees the demolition as other officials restrain the family, including the children. Scenes where the family was being beaten or shown suffering drew laughter from the audience, reflecting a stark reality of the status of the minority community in the BJP-ruled state.
Led by the saffron party, the National Democratic Alliance secured a record 102 seats in the 126-member assembly during the 2026 state election, heavily influenced by delimitation among other key factors.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had on several occasions asserted that in the 2026 assembly polls, the BJP stood a better chance due to the delimitation, which has created new constituencies.
The realignment led to the fragmentation of Muslim-majority constituencies, and their merger with areas dominated by the indigenous community resulted in the dilution of the vote-bank.
