In the days leading up to February 8, Assamese news channels carried a sense of anticipation.

The build-up followed a series of allegations by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged ‘Pakistan links’ of Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi. Among the allegations was that Gogoi’s wife had worked for a Pakistan-based organisation and received payments from a Pakistani national – an arrangement the chief minister claimed raised ‘national security’ concerns.

The allegations quickly spiralled from political rhetoric into a high-stakes media spectacle. Across local news channels, tickers flashed, promos looped, and prime-time coverage revolved around the claims.

On News18 Assam, the coverage took on the feel of a countdown, with promos promising that on February 8, “the mask would come off” and the truth behind the alleged links would be revealed. 

This was not an isolated instance. Ahead of the Assembly elections, political stories across Assam’s television news channels are increasingly framed in ways that amplify claims and allegations, without adequate follow-up.

Newslaundry spoke to senior journalists, media observers and regular viewers in Assam to understand how news is shaping up in the local media during this period. Critics say patterns point to a media ecosystem where visibility is uneven, and scrutiny is selective. 

Who gets seen, who gets questioned

On March 13, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for development projects in Assam, and released the 22nd instalment of the PM-KISAN scheme. During the official government programme in Guwahati, he accused the Congress of spreading false rumours that farmers would have to repay these benefits after the elections, calling it a dishonest tactic amid global economic challenges. He also made a series of other remarks targeting the Opposition.

Senior journalist Sushanta Talukdar said such instances are becoming more frequent. “We have seen instances where official programmes of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister have turned into platforms for Opposition bashing. Normally, that should not happen. These are government programmes and not rallies.”

The issue, Talukdar said, has not been picked up by the local media. “No television channel has discussed the misuse of such government platforms.”

Several people Newslaundry spoke to said coverage often focuses on amplifying the government's achievements rather than on persistent problems on the ground.

Angshuman Dutta, a Guwahati-based entrepreneur who consumes news from multiple sources, particularly on “TV and YouTube”, said, “News is mostly seen of the BJP and its leaders, and Himanta Biswa Sarma is the most visible.” 

Dutta described the coverage as one-sided. “The messaging from the ruling party is aggressive, unapologetically polarising and intimidating,” he said. While this does not personally affect him, he believes it affects the wider public. 

Historically, the Assamese media has been more or less on the side of sub-nationalist politics, said journalist and writer Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty. “Since the Assam Agitation, the media has largely aligned with the Assamese community’s fears and concerns.”

The portrayal of Bengali Muslims as “outsiders”, rooted in the Assam Agitation years (1979–1985), has often appeared in regional media. In this environment, critics argue that overtly polarising rhetoric from political leaders may effectively become normalised within the daily news cycle.

“There is a collective bias in newsrooms against Bengali Muslims,” senior journalist and Pratidin Time anchor Mrinal Talukdar said. “A narrative persists that there are large numbers of Bangladeshis in Assam. Since the late 1970s, this has been kept alive by different parties for their own political purposes. Assamese media caters to that mindset.”

Rahul Parasar, a private-sector employee from Guwahati, said most Assamese news channels lean towards the government. He singled out Pratidin Time as an exception. “If I want to see something critical of the government, I go to Pratidin Time,” he said. He maintained that the broader trend across channels is to prioritise government-related coverage.

Yet, not everyone within the media agrees that this is the result of political pressure.

Mrinal Talukdar argued that news organisations in Assam retain editorial independence. “In individual capacity, journalists here may have less exposure compared to the rest of India,” he said. “But collectively, as media houses, there is strength.”

On political pressure, he noted, “there is zero pressure,” adding that Pratidin Time often takes positions critical of the government. “We are seen as adversarial, but there is no direct pressure.”

Journalist Sushanta Talukdar disagreed.

“In a democracy, especially before elections, the media is expected to provide a level playing field. Even smaller parties should get space. But here, the majority of screen time has gone to the ruling party.”

This, he said, shapes public perception. “When a leader resigns from an Opposition party, headlines tend to exaggerate it as a ‘jolt’ or ‘setback’. But when someone leaves the ruling party, it is reported more matter-of-factly,” Sushanta Talukdar added. 

“There is little comprehensive reporting on government policies. The focus is largely on validating the government’s claims.”

Beyond TV: Ads at work

This visibility extends beyond television. Throughout March, the front pages of major newspapers such as The Assam Tribune and Amar Asom have been dominated by government advertisements featuring the chief minister and the Prime Minister’s visits to Assam and the unveiling of development projects. 

For instance, on March 13, The Assam Tribune carried a full-page government advertisement on the 22nd instalment of PM-KISAN, prominently featuring images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Chief Minister Sarma.

According to figures presented in the Assam Assembly, the state government has spent Rs 452 crore on advertisements across print, electronic, social and digital media in the last five years, with additional spending on banners and hoardings.

On platforms like YouTube, Assamese-language ads highlighting the achievements of the current government, and contrasting them with what they describe as the failures of previous regimes, are widely visible, often appearing before news clips and political content. 

A similar pattern is visible on Instagram, where algorithms, influencers, and coordinated amplification shape political content. 

Devarnav Sharma, a researcher and political commentator, said, in the run-up to elections, content tends to become more event-driven and personality-focused, with reels tracking defections and day-to-day political developments, while also projecting leaders as larger-than-life figures – such as the popular ‘super mama’ persona associated with the chief minister.

This ‘super mama’ persona is a calculated blend of welfare messaging and political branding. The term mama (maternal uncle) is leveraged to signal intimacy and trust, gaining significant traction alongside women-oriented schemes like Orunodoi, which provides direct financial assistance. By tethering his image to these financial assistance programs, Sarma has positioned himself as a benevolent, accessible provider. 

Such branding is synchronised across platforms: television clips and direct interactions with beneficiaries are repackaged into viral snippets, set to music that reinforces the ‘super mama’ persona. Dedicated social media pages, such as the Instagram handle supermamahbs, also popularise this image.

Devarnav Sharma added that, while social media itself is not inherently biased, it is shaped by the resources available to individual parties. “Political parties with more funds can push more content, boost posts and work with influencers,” he said.

One of the less visible dynamics, he noted, is the role of coordinated engagement. “You’ll often see a surge of very similar comments within a short time. They may look organic, but the pattern suggests otherwise,” adding that such activity can create a perception of overwhelming public support. “For an average viewer, it becomes difficult to distinguish what is genuine and what is manufactured.”

“When people repeatedly see the same narratives, the same kind of support, it starts shaping their perception – even if it’s not entirely real.”

The digital ecosystem also includes more overtly political content. In September 2025, the BJP’s Assam unit shared an AI-generated video on its official social media handle imagining “Assam without BJP.” The video depicts a dystopian scenario in which the state is overrun by Muslims, with graphics showing men in skullcaps and women in hijabs occupying public spaces such as airports, heritage sites and tea estates. It suggests a dramatic demographic shift, culminating in an appeal to voters to “choose carefully.”

Power, ownership and control

Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty marked these trends within broader structural shifts in the media. “Across India, the media has increasingly become the voice of the government rather than the voice of the people,” she said. 

She pointed to corporatisation and financial dependence as key pressures. “Many media organisations depend on government advertisements that inevitably affect coverage. Some who continue to do journalism risk losing that support.”

Recalling her own reporting, she said, “When I worked on corruption allegations involving the current chief minister, there was a complete blackout. I had never seen that before in Assamese media.”

Multiple sources also said that political interests directly or indirectly control many media houses. For instance, News Live, a popular news channel in Assam, is owned by Pride East Entertainments. The company is chaired by the chief minister’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, who holds a 51.33 percent stake in the organisation. 

On News Live’s YouTube channel, short clips predominantly feature the chief minister’s pre-election speeches, including recurring remarks about preventing “Bangladeshis” from living in Assam. Much of the remaining content focuses on sitting BJP MLAs and contesting candidates, highlighting campaign activities and statements in support of the chief minister’s leadership. His press conferences are streamed live, at times accompanied by AI-generated female voiceovers. In contrast, coverage of opposition parties is nearly non-existent; when present, it largely appears in segments featuring criticism from BJP leaders.

Prime-time coverage frequently includes vox pops with residents across the state, many of whom speak positively about government initiatives. These segments often highlight flagship welfare initiatives rolled out by the government, alongside claims of improvements in infrastructure and job creation.

At the same time, Pisharoty noted that pressures are not uniform. “Many young reporters want to do serious journalism. But when they question the chief minister, he asks about their surnames or organisations, often implying their jobs could be at risk.”

She pointed to the large protest by Assamese media against the arrest of local journalist Dilwar Hussain Mazumder that stood out. “Many saw the arrest as arbitrary, and as indicative of a system complicit in shielding allegations of corruption at a cooperative bank where the chief minister is a board member.”

“I see the mobilisation as an expression of latent anger among journalists in a state where there is increasing interference by the government when journalists ask questions.”

However, for regular viewers like Jayshree Khaklari, the effect of this media environment is already visible. A domestic worker from Udalguri district in the Bodoland Territorial Council area, now working in Guwahati, she said her political choices are largely shaped by who people in her area are voting for, as well as the news clips she consumes on Facebook.

“I don’t see much of the Congress,” she said. “Most of their big leaders have already joined the BJP. So I don’t really have an option but to vote for the BJP.”

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