In a saffron surge in the Northeast, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party put up a spectacular show in Tripura, as it ended 25 years of the Left government in the state. As three NE states- Tripura, Nagaland, and Meghalaya faced verdicts on March 3, the BJP was seen pushing their roots firmly in a region that once seemed impenetrable. A significant breakthrough, the victory didn't come easy. Two main factors that helped the BJP was the dissatisfaction with the Manik Sarkar government, and the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), a tribal-dominated party that helped it clinch 39 out of 59 constituencies in the state.
Congress, barring Meghalaya, was almost wiped clean in Nagaland and Tripura, becoming a butt of jokes on the world wide web for its obscene performance in the polls. It is safe to say that the grand old party has lost all political footing across the country. Following its victory, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said people are reposing faith in the development oriented agenda of the NDA while rejecting negative and disconnected politics. He said his party's historic victory in Tripura is “as much an ideological one”. “Time and again, election after election, the people of India are reposing their faith in the positive and development oriented agenda of the NDA,” Modi tweeted.
“The historic victory in Tripura is as much an ideological one. It is a win for democracy over brute force and intimidation. Today peace and non-violence have prevailed over fear. We will provide Tripura the good government that the state deserves,” he said.
Tripura
The BJP set aside the IPFT's demands to make a tribal the chief minister, and declared state unit chief Biplab Deb as the next premier of Tripura. Convener of the state BJP's Janajati Morcha or tribal unit, Jishnu Debbarma will be the deputy. The announcement was made by Transport and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari, who along with Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram, was sent to Tripura as central observers.
The BJP stormed the CPI(M) shrine by winning 43 seats in alliance with the IPFT. The swearing-in ceremony will be held on March 9. While the party had not declared any chief ministerial candidate during its campaigning, the fact that Deb would take up the reins was a foregone conclusion. Deb's immediate job will be to pacify the IPFT. IPFT chief NC Debbarma said his party would support the new government from outside if it was not given “respectable” positions in the ministry.
Set to be the youngest chief minister, 48 year old Deb was made president of the state BJP and in a very short period of time, caught the imagination of the electorate, displayed impressive oratory skills and leadership qualities. With language skills restrained to only Hindi and Bengali, Deb has spent 15 years away from Tripura, training under top RSS leaders in Delhi. He is credited with building the BJP's cadres in the last two years.
“People inspire me... they are my dal, roti,” Deb said. “There has been a huge change in my life. I love the people of Tripura. I even love the Communist and Manik Sarkar but I am annoyed that they got so much time but did not utilise the resources of the state to develop it. We will rebuild it from scratch.”
Meghalaya
The 10-year long rule of Congress in Meghalaya has come to an end as the National People's Party (NPP) President Conrad Sangma swore in as Chief Minister. Sangma had met with Governor Ganga Prasad and staked claim to form the government with the support of 34 MLAs in the 60-member Assembly. It was reported that the NPP will form the coalition government in Meghalaya with the help of BJP, United Democratic Party, Hill State People Democratic Party, People's Democratic Front, and an independent MLA from Dalu.
At the oath taking, Governor Prasad also administered oath to 11 Cabinet Ministers. Of the 11 ministers, four are from NPP, three from UDP, two from PDF, and one each from HSPDP and BJP. Also present at the event were BJP president Amit Shah and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Chief Ministers of BJP-led government in Assam and Manipur, Sarbananda Sonowal, and N Biren Singh also attended the ceremony. “This is an important development, the North East is becoming Congress Mukt. In most of the states here now there is either a BJP government or a government by the NDA,” Rajnath said.
The state threw a hung Assembly as the ruling Congress party bagged 21 seats, down from last poll's 29, and falling 10 short of a simple majority, while Sangma's party won 19 seats. With both the party confident on its part about being able to form the government, it was BJP, with its pitiable 2 seats of the 47-seat Assembly in the Christian-dominated state, that managed to push the Congress out of power. Even though the NPP and BJP fought separately, they are allies at the Centre, and in Manipur. The UDP is also part of the BJP-helmed North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA). At least 30 seats were required to form a majority in the 60-member Assembly, which has an effective strength of 59.
Nagaland
Neiphu Rio is all set to form the next government in Nagaland after he submitted letters of support of 32 legislators to Governor PB Acharya in Kohima. The outgoing Naga People's Front government has, however, tried to queer the pitch, with TR Zeliang refusing to resign as CM and asking the BJP to help it form the government as quid pro quo for support to the BJP. The efforts are however, unlikely to hold intended impact as the new government is likely to be sworn in this week.
Elected BJP legislature party leader Y Patton will most likely to be the deputy chief minister. “The governor had asked Rio to submit letters of supporting MLAs in 48 hours,” a senior official in Kohima Raj Bhavan said. The National Democratic People's Party and BJP, which contested in alliance has 30 seats in the 60-seat assembly, including Rio, who was elected unopposed. The NDPP won 18 seats in the Nagaland Assembly elections, while the Naga People’s Front bagged 26 seats. Besides the BJP legislators, one Janata Dal (United) MLA and one independent MLA have also pledged support to form the government, taking the alliance beyond the majority mark of 31 in the 60-member Legislative Assembly.
