MANIPUR WIN TO HELP BJP EXPAND IN N-E

From zero in the 2012 Manipur state polls to winning 21 seats in 2017 is no mean achievement for the BJP.

While the BJP has formed governments in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, it is part of the ruling coalition in Nagaland. And now, the latest success has made it a strong contender to form an alliance government in Manipur too.

The BJP and its likely allies touched the halfway mark of 30 if one takes into account the expected support of the Naga Peoples Front (NPF) and the National Peoples Party (NPP) both of which have bagged four seats each along with the declared support of the lone candidate of the Lok Janshakti Party.

Both the Lok Sabha MP Conrad Sangma-led NPP and the former Nagaland CM Neiphuo Rio-led NPF are part of the North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), formed by a clutch of political parties in the Northeast in May 2016 with powerful Assam minister and key BJP strategist Himanta Biswa Sarma as the convener.

While the Okram Ibobi Singh-led Congress bagged 28 seats, the Trinamul and an independent candidate won one seat each.

Seemingly, Ashab Uddin, the independent candidate from Jiribam constituency would have a vital say in the government formation.

The Congress, burdened by strong anti-incumbency of three consecutive terms and allegations of corruption and poor law and order, had brightened its prospects considerably with a masterstroke by the politically astute Ibobi when on December 9 he raked up an old demand for creation of seven new districts in the state from the original nine which resulted in widespread Naga protests capped off by a road blockade.

Mr Ibobi led its winners’ list by retaining the prestigious Thoubal seat. Other prominent Congress winning candidates included Md Abdul Naser and K. Jaikishen Singh. N. Biren Singh, a key BJP leader and former Manipur Congress spokesperson, also won from Heingang Assembly seat. Other prominent BJP winning candidates included Sapam R. Singh and Heikham Dingo Singh. The credit for the saffron party’s spate of recent successes in the Northeast has been attributed to the welldevised strategies of the BJP general secretary Ram Madhav and Himanta Biswa Sarma.