Northeast Elections 2018: Why BJP is so desperate to hype its Tripura win

Of late, BJP and party chief Amit Shah’s cloak of invincibility has been perceived to be slipping.

Northeast Elections 2018  : The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) celebrations over winning Tripura, and forming coalition governments through the back door in Meghalaya and Nagaland, continued at its parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday morning.

BJP Members of Parliament (MPs) distributed sweets, and raised slogans that now it was the party’s turn to win Karnataka.

Yes, the BJP won Tripura handsomely. But it won neither Meghalaya, where it got two of the 60 seats, nor Nagaland. The Congress was decimated in Tripura and Nagaland, and emerged the single-largest party in Meghalaya.

Together, the three states send five MPs to the Lok Sabha – Tripura and Meghalaya send two each and Nagaland sends one.

The BJP has put some thought into its strategy to continue celebrating its Tripura win, and form coalition governments in Meghalaya and Nagaland. It needs to restore the impression of invincibility that it had managed to create after its victories in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand in March 2017.

However, in that series of Assembly polls, too, the BJP had lost Punjab. Its incumbent government in Goa failed to emerge as the single-largest party, and it was not the single-largest party in Manipur either. But it formed governments in these two states, thanks mostly to behind-the-scenes machinations.

The past few months have not been very good for the BJP and the Narendra Modi government. There have been sustained farmer and trade union protests, and the government has had to try to reach out to farmers.

The Modi government’s claims on providing jobs have been punctured as well. It is seen to have failed to deliver on its promise of creating 20 million jobs a year.
Additionally, the Punjab National Bank fraud has punched holes in its claims of providing corruption-free governance.

→ Meghalaya Elections 2018 Results ←

Nagaland outranks rich states in health, gender equity, but jobs a concern

Almost all or 97% of households in Nagaland have access to electricity, above the national average of 88.2%

Business Standard News : After a decade of precarious peace, Nagaland, India’s once troubled north-eastern state, now rivals and even outperforms India’s richest states on a number of development outcomes, according to an IndiaSpend analysis of 10 states on 20 socio-economic and health indicators.

However, poor infrastructure and a fragile peace continue to be problem areas as the state–formed on December 1, 1963–heads to the polls on February 27, 2018.

Perched on India’s eastern edge bordering Myanmar, Nagaland is roughly the size of Kuwait and has 2 million people, the same as the central Indian city of Indore. There are 16 major tribes and 20 sub-tribes, each marked by distinct clothing and jewellery; 87.93% of its population is Christian. English may be the official language, but over 30 languages and dialects are spoken.

With a per capita income of Rs 78,367, Nagaland ranks 22nd in India, below the national average of Rs 86,454, though ahead of low-income states such as Chhattisgarh (Rs 78,001) and Rajasthan (Rs 75,201). It is also ahead of other north-eastern states such ase Meghalaya (Rs 64,638) and Assam (Rs 52,895), according to the India Economic Survey 2016-17.

For the first time since Nagaland attained statehood in 1963, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which heads the ruling alliance at the Centre, is seeking to expand its presence in the state and in the rest of the north-east. Along with the Naga People’s Front (NPF), the BJP has been a part of the ruling coalition here, the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland.

However, earlier this month, the BJP broke away from the incumbent NPF government over seat-sharing issues. It has now instead joined forces with the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party, which includes many former leaders of the NPF, agreeing to a 20:40 seat-sharing arrangement.

Meghalaya Assembly Election 2018: Explosion at Tizit, top developments

Voting underway in Meghalaya and Nagaland Assembly elections 2018; BJP and Congress slug it out for the Northeast.

Business Standard News : The results of the polls in the two states, along with that of Tripura, will be declared on Saturday, March 3.

Here are the top developments in the crucial Meghalaya and Nagaland Assembly polls:

1) Bomb blast at Nagaland polling station: One person was injured in a bomb blast at a polling station in Mon District’s Tizit, in Nagaland.

2) Voting underway in both states: Amid tight security, voting for the Meghalaya Assembly elections 2018 began on Tuesday, an official said. “Men and women in large numbers queued up in front of many polling stations well before polling opened at 7 am in the entire state. Polling ends at 4 pm,” Chief Electoral Officer Frederick Roy Kharkongor said.

3) Voting only in 59 constituencies in both states: While the two states have a 60-member House each, voting will be held for only 59 constituencies each.

4) Webcasting at 193 polling stations; restrictions on exit polls: Webcasting will be done at 193 polling stations. Further, 312 micro observers have been deployed.

5) BJP leaving no stone unturned to push Congress out: This time around, the BJP appears to be leaving no stone unturned to push the Congress out of power and add Meghalaya to its kitty. The BJP’s push in the north-east, which has traditionally been a Congress stronghold with the saffron party being a marginal player, is being keenly watched by political observers.