BJP emerges key player as 3 NE states gear up for polls

GUWAHATI: As three northeastern states go to polls subsequent month, BJP may develop into the main challenger to CPM in Tripura, and Congress in Meghalaya. The saffron birthday party is a ruling spouse in Nagaland, the first northeastern state to get NDA in place of job.
Tripura is going to polls on February 18, while Nagaland and Meghalaya will vote on February 27. All three states have 60-member assemblies.

What makes the elections attention-grabbing is BJP's push to challenge itself as a major contender for power, particularly in Tripura and Meghalaya, which is without doubt one of the last Congress bastions within the nation. BJP shares power with Naga People's Front (NPF) in Nagaland .

Recently, Tripura CM Manik Sarkar, who has been in power since 1998, has acknowledged BJP because the Left Front's primary challenger within the state. BJP has been seeking to make inroads into the tribal belt, a CPM bastion, and has formed an alliance with tribal-dominated Indigenous People's Front of Tripura to take on the Left.

Congress turns out to have develop into a spent pressure in Tripura, with the birthday party facing an exodus of its leaders to BJP. At least six MLAs, who switched facet from Congress to Trinamool Congress, have not too long ago joined BJP.

CPM's Tripura secretary Bijan Dhar hopes that the Left would return to power within the state for a file 6th time. After Kerala, Tripura is the one state where the Left Front is in power.


In Christian-majority Meghalaya too, BJP may emerge as a major player. Aware of this, National People's Party (NPP) - a BJP ally on the Centre and in Manipur - seems to be retaining a distance from the saffron birthday party. So some distance, NPP - based by way of former Lok Sabha speaker PA Sangma - is non-committal on any ballot tie-up with BJP, which is more likely to depend on Union minister KJ Alphons, a Christian, in its battle for power within the state.


Congress may cash in on BJP's alleged "Hindu consolidation" marketing campaign in other portions of nation. Meghalaya CM Mukul Sangma says Congress will reveal "underhand dealings" between BJP and NPP, which may go it on my own within the election. Both Congress and NPP may give a tricky fight to each other in Meghalaya's Garo Hills, to which each the CM and NPP president Conrad Sangma (PA Sangma's son) belong.


In Nagaland, social and political teams have been looking for postponement of the polls until the Centre and Naga stakeholders get to the bottom of the vexed issue of insurgency. However, political events want election to be held to keep away from a re-run of 1998, when Congress received with none contest following a similar boycott. NPF, led by way of CM TR Zeliang, and the newly formed National Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) are likely to be the 2 primary contenders within the election. Lok Sabha MP and former CM Neiphiu Rio joined NDPP this week. This has put BJP in a catch 22 situation over opting for between NPF, its ally for years, and Rio, who is seen to be close to it .


BJP emerges key player as 3 NE states gear up for polls BJP emerges key player as 3 NE states gear up for polls Reviewed by Kailash on January 20, 2018 Rating: 5
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