The preparations for this year’s elections in the northeast states are going on in a full-swing. The BJP is preparing for the important elections later this month, announcing party candidates for Meghalaya and Nagaland today. Tripura’s election is scheduled for February 16, and that of Meghalaya and Nagaland is set for February 27.
Himanta Biswa Sarma, chief minister of Assam and a spokesman for the BJP in the region, has forecast a resounding electoral victory for the BJP across all three northeastern states. In an interview with NDTV, Mr Sarma said, “In Meghalaya, the BJP will emerge as a more important political power. In Tripura, we will retain power by a bigger majority, and in Nagaland, we will again form a government with the NDPP.”
These elections in the Northeast are crucial for BJP ahead of the 2024 elections. Currently, BJP is in power in all three states of Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland.
The BJP government has allied with the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura after the party swept to an unprecedented 36-seat victory. BJP has also formed alliances with regional powers in the other two states of Nagaland and Meghalaya.
Conrad Sangma’s National People’s Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and four other regional allies presently rule Meghalaya. The Meghalaya Democratic Alliance is the third coalition to serve a full term in the state’s history and the first in 50 years. With tensions rising inside the ruling coalition over the past few months, the BJP has decided to run unopposed for all 60 seats.
Meanwhile, in 2018, the BJP won 12 seats in Nagaland and joined the government of Neiphiu Rio, who leads the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP). This time around, the BJP party is running with the NDPP. The BJP is running for 20 seats, and the NDPP is running for 40 seats.
Further, Mr Sarma added that the goodwill of Prime Minister Modi is the biggest asset in the northeast. Therefore, the victory margin for the BJP will be much bigger this time in the northeast.