BJP’S hopes fly high in Northeast

NE was earlier ignored by parties because of fewer LS seats, but not anymore

NEW DELHI: During the Lok Sabha polls in April, many voters in Guwahati would indicate to their friends who they voted for by cupping their palms, depicting the lotus — the BJP’S symbol. And there were a lot of them. Not surprisingly, seven of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam went to the BJP.

And in the Northeast (NE) now, the BJP and Congress are tied with eight MPS each from the region. With its 24 MPS for the Lok Sabha, the NE was considered a traditional bastion of the Congress. But not anymore. While the BJP has big plans for the 2016 Assam assembly polls, it is eyeing major gains in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Sikkim.

“Because of fewer Lok Sabha seats, the NE was practically ignored by national political parties for long. Things have one of the leading BJP voices from the region who has twice been the party’s national general secretary.

Explaining the political dynamics, Siddhartha Bhattacharya, newly-appointed president of Assam BJP, said, “Congress is fighting for survival in the region; we are fighting to expand and consolidate our base.”

Apart from the Modi wave, complacency, arrogance and infighting within the ruling Congress have resulted in the BJP gaining ground in Assam. There are also indications that ers to the BJP as 2016 draws near.

Already the BJP is focusing big on the Bangladeshi ‘illegal immigration’ which is an emotive issue in the state. BJP is using this fear to penetrate other NE states, riding on dominant regional parties there such as Naga People’s Front (NPF) in Nagaland and National People’s Party (NPP) in Manipur and Meghalaya.

Another major factor for the growing BJP hopes is the party’s penetration in the tea-growing belt. Tea plantation workers (18-20% votes) have traditionally been the largest en bloc voters for the Congress after Muslims (32-35% votes). The NE is primed to get more attention from the BJP and not just for the sake of politics, explains K Vihoshe Sumi, general secretary, Nagaland BJP. “Our party is the first one to recognise the strategic value of the NE — be it from national security standpoint or from the Look East perspective. In the days to come, many NE ments,” he says.

In June, three of the four Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLAS in the 60-member Nagaland assembly have joined the BJP, which now has four MLAS in the state. Since 2003, BJP has been a partner of the Npf-led government in Nagaland. “So, in a sense, Nagaland is the only Bjp-ruled state in the NE,” adds Sumi.

Nor is the BJP without presence in Meghalaya where Garo strongman PA Sangma, who leads the NPP, is a prominent member of the NDA coalition.

In Manipur, too, the ruling Congress led by CM Okram Ibobi Singh is expected to battle incumbency. Steeped in insurgency problems, issues of corruption among others, Manipuris will be watching PM Modi’s performance keenly.

While there is no doubt that the party’s fortunes look bright in many NE states, inroads into the region’s other states — Mizoram and Tripura — may

APART FROM THE MODI WAVE, COMPLACENCY, ARROGANCE AND INFIGHTING WITHIN THE RULING CONGRESS HAVE RESULTED IN THE BJP GAINING GROUND IN ASSAM