On a day when both the opposition and the ruling coalitions met in different cities to formulate their alliances ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha elections, one aspect was very hard to miss—the Northeast. While the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had as many as 11 political outfits from the region representing it, there was not even one in the Congress-led alliance, which has been named Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance or INDIA.
NDA’S 11 PARTIES FROM N-E
Out of the 11, at least four are ruling parties in different states of the Northeast. Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma’s National People’s Party or NPP is the most notable alliance partner of the NDA. It is also in alliance with the BJP in the state. Another key political outfit in the NDA’s 11 is the National Democratic Progressive Party or NDPP, which is being led by Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio. The BJP is also in alliance with his party in the state. Another key Northeast party in the NDA’s kitty is Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM), which is the ruling party of Sikkim. In the 2019 assembly elections, SKM won 17 out of the 32 seats in the hill state. The other key N-E constituent is Meghalaya’s ruling party Mizo National Front (MNF). Its president Zoramthanga is also the chief minister of Mizoram. The party started as an uprising in the 1960s but later joined mainstream politics.
The Indigenous Peoples Party of Tripura or IPPT is a Tripura-based tribal party that fought alongside the BJP this time as well as the last time when the alliance uprooted the decades-old Manik Sarkar government.
Apart from that, Naga People’s Front, Asom Gana Parishad, and United People’s Party Liberal were all part of Tuesday’s meeting at Hotel Ashoka in New Delhi. The last one is an Assam-based outfit. Even from violence-torn Manipur, Kuki People’s Alliance was present in the NDA meeting attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself. In total, there are four political allies from the state of Meghalaya. The other two are United Democratic Front and Hill States Democratic Party.
IS N-E DITCHING ‘INDIA’?
News18 reached out to AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal for a comment on why the Northeast appears to be ditching ‘INDIA’. He hasn’t responded so far. The story will be updated if and when a reaction is received.
The Congress has been fast losing its footprint in the Northeast since 2014 when Narendra Modi swept to power, ousting 10 years of the UPA government. This month, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Venugopal held a meeting of leaders from the Northeast states. The “Act East” policy of the Prime Minister has become the “act least” policy for the north-eastern states, Kharge is believed to have said in the meeting. However, many leaders, after the meeting, accepted that the reality is quite the opposite.
A massive developmental thrust of the Prime Minister ever since coming to power is visible from the sheer fact that the number of airports in the North Eastern Region (NER) rose from nine to 16 since 2014. The number of flights has also sprung from about 900 before 2014 to around 1,900. Even the region has also been brought under the 5G ecosystem on par with the rest of India. Vande Bharat has also been introduced in the region.
This March, as the Centre decided to further limit AFSPA in Nagaland, Assam, and Manipur—a longstanding demand—the Prime Minister said, “The Northeast is witnessing all-round development. Once known for blockades and violence, the region is now known for its development strides.”
As the opposition braces for the 2024 Lok Sabha election with a catchy acronym but zero allies from the Northeast, at Ashoka Hotel’s Kalinga Hall, Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio found the most important section of the table along with PM Modi, Tamil Nadu chief minister E Palaniswami, and Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde.
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