BJP toils to gain foothold in state

SHILLONG, April 8: A largely popular party across major parts of India with a third consecutive term at the Centre, the BJP has struggled to gain a foothold in Meghalaya despite persistent efforts.
In Meghalaya, the saffron party has tried to present itself as secular and, at times, even attempted to polarise situations to gain electoral ground. However, these strategies have mostly failed.
Speaking on the issue, Cabinet Minister AL Hek — a long-time BJP loyalist who briefly joined the Congress — said the party needs to focus on finding strong candidates in Meghalaya to win elections. “People vote for the BJP in other parts of the country based on the party’s ideology, but in Meghalaya, the electorate votes based on the personality of the candidate, not party affiliation,” Hek remarked.
Hek’s statement carries weight, as the BJP has consistently failed to win more than two seats in the state over the past 10-12 years, despite its national dominance.
In the 2018 Assembly elections, the party won only two seats — those of AL Hek and Sanbor Shullai, both of whom have never lost an election, regardless of the party they represented.
The pattern continued in the 2023 Assembly elections, where the same two leaders retained their seats despite a high-profile campaign by the BJP’s central leadership. The party didn’t even contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the state and suffered a resounding defeat in both the Gambegre by-election and the recently held MDC elections.