We will form next Govt in Meghalaya: NEDA convenor Himanta Bishwa
Guwahati: Making it clear that the newly-formed North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) has the main objective of making the region Congress-free, the NEDA convenor and a senior minister in the BJP-led government in Assam, Himanta Bishwa Sarma on Wednesday assured the BJP president Amit Shah that not a single seat from the North East will go to Congress in 2019 Lok Sabha poll.
“All the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the region will be won by the candidates from NEDA,” said Sarma while addressing the first conclave of the regional political body here on Wednesday.
Sarma said one of the main objectives of NEDA which is founded on the motto of growth governance and government, to ensure that no Congress government remained in any of the N-E states in near future.
Sarma further said NEDA, which is hitherto a combination of ten regional political parties plus the BJP, would form the next governments in Meghalaya and Manipur where Assembly elections are due in two year’s time.
He said the NEDA which is a brainchild of BJP president Amit Shah, would facilitate unprecedented coordination among NE states that would boost growth and development in the region.
Shah while referring to the formation of NEDA said that the idea to have a such a forum for increasing coordination among the states of the N-E region which his termed a region of tremendous potential and possibilities but neglected by successive Congress governments in the Centre post-independence, every big thing had small beginning, took root in his mind after the BJP won the last Assembly election in Assam by forging an alliance with regional parties.
He said NEDA which has ten smaller regional parties – Asom Gana Parishad, Bodoland People’s Front, Ganashakti, National People’s Party , United Democratic Party, Nagaland People’s Front, Mizo National Front, People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA), Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) and Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) – along with the BJP, the biggest political party in the world, would work in coordination to contribute towards overall development of the northeastern region.
He claimed that the region was always in the radar of the BJP-led NDA government which has taken several steps to expedite the process of development here.
The UDP was represented by its president Donkuper Roy and the NPP by its president Conrad Sangma in the conclave which was also graced by three Union ministers, Khiren Rijiju, Rajen Gohain and Dr Jitendra Singh besides leaders of the regional political parties including chief ministers of Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.
Chief minister of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, T R Zeliang and Kalikho Pul while speaking in the conclave expressed hope that NEDA would be boon for solving vexed issues like boundary dispute among the N-E states besides facilitating all round development of the region with the help of BKP government in the Centre.