C K Nayak
NEW DELHI: The BJP, which has literally made the entire North East “Congress Mukt,” either directly or through allies, seems to be paving the way for the latter’s return albeit indirectly.
The first damage was done when the saffron party tried to impose the ban on cow slaughter in the NE states where nearly half of the population comprising Christians and Muslim are beef eaters.
The second and most damaging step was the highly controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill which, however, could not be passed in Parliament.
A state-wise analysis shows the party has lost the most in Assam, Manipur and Tripura. In Assam, it won the highest number of seven Lok Sabha seats out of the 14 in 2014 and also subsequently formed the government in the state replacing the Congress in 2015.
Apart from the goof in the ticket distribution for MPs, the party cut a sorry figure when its regional chieftain and state minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was kept out of the contest even though it was initially announced by the party itself.
The entire population in general and Muslims, who are a sizable chunk in Assam, Manipur and Tripura, are up against the CAB since it might change the demographic profile of the whole region. The bill enables migrant non-Muslims from neighbouring Bangladesh to get citizenship on the ground of religious persecution in that country.
Himanta’s assertion about NE becoming a land of Jinnahs if the CAB is not enacted into law has created a sense of unease among the minority population. His clarification later that he had meant Bangladeshi Muslims and not those belonging to NE or other parts of India did not cut much ice with the people.
Even the Hindus, and mainly the tribals in the remaining states- Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Aurnachal Pradesh and Sikkim — are also not happy over the bill since it would reduce them to a minority in their own homeland. Bangladesh has more Hindu and tribal population than the entire region combined.
The tacit alliance of Congress with the AIDUF in Assam is also giving the jitters to BJP.
Arunachal Pradesh witnessed violent incidents over the issue of Permanent Residence Certificates the BJP government in the state had reportedly proposed to issue to six non-Arunachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribes (APSTs) living in certain parts of the state.
The twin issues of beef ban and CAB was made known to the BJP top brass in all meetings, but the party paid little heed to the complaints. Secondly, the BJP came back riding piggy back on regional parties in most of the NE states, but is now fighting against them individually and even collectively. In Assam, however, it could restore its league with the AGP after the latter had left the alliance government over CAB; the alliance also has the Bodoland People’s Front.
But in Meghalaya, for the two Lok Sabha seats, the party is fighting not only against the principal regional party NPP, but also other regional parties. The NPP has given sleepless nights to the national party in the region since it has put up candidates in all the 25 seats, including those where the BJP is contesting.
The BJP made a U-turn when it put up a candidate for the Tura seat after declaring not to field any against the NPP. The seat has become a prestige issue since former Congress chief minister Mukul Sangma is pitted against NPP’s Agatha Sangma.
This has created an embarrassing situation since the BJP is a coalition partner in NPP- led ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance in the state with one Cabinet minister, A L Hek. Mukul in all his speeches, is pointing out the unusual relationship between NPP and BJP to the discomfiture of both.
The NPP Meghalaya unit president W R Kharlukhi said, “Even without the BJP, we are the majority — they are with us in the government since we are part of NEDA. But BJP Shillong candidate and sitting MLA Sanbor Shullai created a flutter when he said that the regional parties depend on the party for funds.
While NPP has not put up a candidate in Shillong, the regional parties combined are not contesting in Tura. Congress MP Vincent H Pala is trying for a hat trick and Mukul is vying to make his debut as an MP.
The BJP had to drop its Home and Tourism ministers in Arunachal since they joined NPP to contest the polls. The state is also going for simultaneous assembly polls along with Sikkim.
Similar confusion prevails in Nagaland, Mizoram and Sikkim where BJP is in alliance. Tripura, where BJP is in power, could be a different story since the ruling party has generally won the two Lok Sabha seats for a long time.
But amid all the confusion, the BJP is still heading the North East Democratic Alliance, a conglomeration of regional parties, including NPP and AGP. The NEDA convenor, Himanta Biswa Sarma, claims that the party’s relationship with the regional parties against which it is fighting remains intact.