With Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh in the bag, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on the campaign trail for the coming polls in Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura. These states will have their assembly elections early next year. Modi went there with the offer of bonanza, the promise that the Centre would invest Rs 90,000 crore on building roads in the NE in the next few years. His campaign has begun with the stress on connectivity, the most urgent need for the economy of the region. He said that Rs 60,000 crore would be spent under the Special Accelerated Roads Development Programme and Rs 30,000 crore under the Bharatmala Project to build a network of highways and roads in the region. All capitals in these states will also be brought on the rail map. Modi launched the NE Special Infrastructure Scheme which is designed to remove the chinks from infrastructure in the poll-bound states. The focus will be on water supply, power, connectivity, tourism, education and health. The Centre’s policy on the NE will stress transformation through transportation. The introduction of seaplanes will be a new development. Modi also supported one of BJP’s mascots, Union Tourism Minister, Alphons Joseph Kaninthan’s statement that he was a practising Christian to engage the support of Christians in Meghalaya.
Election sops have to be eyed with suspicion. It is only natural that the Prime Minister will attack what he called the inactivity of the Congress for 15 years of its rule in Meghalaya. He has tried to capitalise on the BJP’s vantage point at the Centre. The electorate is easily swayed and may not question why the NDA at the Centre for the last two years has done precious little in these states. Why was the money being promised on the eve of the polls not pumped into the states earlier? If the BJP captures the NE as it may well do, will implementation be successful? The performance of the BJP in other states still leaves much to be desired.