From Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: Concerned over the indifferent show of Congress in the North East in the last Lok Sabha elections, chairman of the North East Congress Co-ordination Council (NECCC), DD Lapang on Tuesday called for strengthening the regional body to revive the party in order to restore its past glory in the region.
For the first time in the region’s electoral history, the Congress’s citadel was breached by Narendra Modi-led NDA in the recent Lok Sabha elections.
“Time has come for the AICC to give greater focus on the Northeast,” Lapang told The Shillong Times here before leaving for Shillong.
“The region has as many as eight states which is bigger than any other region of the country with 25 lok Sabha seats and 13 Rajya Sabha berths but the AICC has only two general secretaries assigned to look after the party affairs of the whole region,” he said adding that the apex body of the party should assign more general secretaries for the Northeast.
Of the 25 seats in NE, the BJP has won seven in Assam, one in Arunachal Pradesh and its allies secured one each in Meghalaya and Nagaland even as the Sikkim Democratic Front extended its support to the NDA.
Only in Manipur, Congress thwarted the BJP wave under the leadership of three-time chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh retaining both the seats. Congress also retained Mizoram’s lone seat with its sitting member CL Ruala defeating Robert Romawia Royte of United Democratic Front.
Tripura, the Left’s last bastion, gave a reason to smile to the Communists, who were drubbed in West Bengal and Kerala. Assam, meanwhile, saw a definite rise of BJP and AIUDF.
Lapang lamented that even the NECCC has not got any official recognition from the AICC even though top most leaders of the party have participated and addressed its meetings in various places.
“In the absence of any official recognition, state units are also not responding well to the NECCC,” he said.
The NE region has a special fascination for the Congress and particularly for the Gandhi-Nehru family, the veteran leader recollected. “It was during the Congress regime that so many Northeastern states were created and the North East Council was set up for integrated development,” he said adding that concerted efforts are required to revive the party in the real sense in the region.
Very soon the leaders of the NECCC meet the high command to plead for reviving the half-a-century old party organisation, Lapang added.