BJP eyes two more states in the north-east after winning three

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Published on: 25 March 2017 11:20 AM GMT
BJP eyes two more states in the north-east after winning three
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New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party which has captured power in three states in the north-east has its eyes set on two others which will go to polls early next year. The seriousness with which the party is taking these elections can be gauged from the fact that it has already gone in election- mode, though they are more six months away.

Some of the party president Amit Shah's back-room boys who have been emboldened by recent assembly results in five states have been already dispatched to the region to suggest ways and means to gain power in these states and move closer to achieving the Congress Mukt Bharat plan.

Of these two. the Congress rules in Meghalaya and the Communists in Tripura. Understandably, Meghalaya holds the top position on its agenda. The task is not easy because the Congress had won all the last three assembly elections in the state and the BJP is yet to make its presence felt in the tribal-dominated hill state.

The scene in the other state, Tripura, which will also go to polls next year is completely different. The Marxists have been ruling the state with considerable ease for past ten years as no other party has posed any threat to them so far.

Results of 2008 and 2013 elections make it bare. In the year 2008, they had bagged 46 out of the total 60 assembly seats. In next elections the tally was improved by three seats. Another notable feature is that the state had recorded the highest percentage of voting-- 93-- in previous polls. It has 20 seats reserved for the tribal community.

According to BJP sources here, the strategy of the party is to strengthen the North East Democratic Alliance, which was set up by Amit Shah to increase the party's footprint in the region, with the help of some regional parties.

The party has already roped in Naga People's Party founded by late P A Sangama which has joined the BJP-led government in Manipur. It is in talks with some smaller parties to enlarge its base in the area.

If the BJP dethrones the Congress in Meghalaya, it will rule over more than half of the north-east as it has already assumed power in three out of seven states. The party is unlikely to leave any thing to chance largely for this reason.

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