INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI/GUWAHATI: The Election Commission Wednesday announced assembly polls in 180 seats across three northeastern states, starting with
BJP-governed Tripura on February 16 and followed by simultaneous polling on February 27 in Meghalaya and Nagaland, where the saffron party
is second in the pecking order of coalitions headed by regional giants
said.The stakes seem higher for BJP in the northeast this time as it aims to deepen its footprint in the region with a bold new approach,
facing off against tribal ally IPFT in Tripura and its senior coalition partner in Meghalaya, Conrad Sangma's NPP.In Nagaland, BJP is
reprising its 2018 seat-sharing arrangement with its current ally, CM Neiphiu Rio's NDPP, against the backdrop of boycott threats by Naga
Nagaland.BJP chief ministers currently lead governments in four of the seven contiguous states of the northeast, a tally it aspires to
increase by at least one by adding Meghalaya to the list, sources said
Christian-majority Meghalaya
Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress is also aiming to make inroads into CM Sangma's territory.The bigger battle for the Lok Sabha in 2024
is another reason why BJP is seen as being extra keen to gain more than just enough seats to remain in government
The seven sisters jointly have 24 Lok Sabha seats, of which 17 are currently with NDA
The only northeastern state where BJP does not have a stake in the government is Mizoram
CM Zoramthanga's MNF remains an NDA ally at the Centre, though
Mizoram will go to the polls later this year.In Tripura, the fledgling TIPRA Motha led by royal scion Pradyot Bikram Manikya DebBarma is a
lies bruised and battered in all three poll-bound states
The grand old party didn't win a single seat in Nagaland and Tripura last time
In Meghalaya, where it finished as the single largest party in 2018, former CM Mukul Sangma led more than half of the Congress MLAs to TMC
which was ousted from one of its strongest bastions in Tripura in a historic victory by BJP five years ago, is looking for partners this
time to take on the saffron brigade.Around 62.8 lakh eligible voters, with women outnumbering men, hold the key to the northeast electoral
The three states with 60-member assemblies each together have 1.76 lakh newly eligible voters in the 18-19 age group and 97,100 voters in
the 80-plus category, of whom 2,644 are centenarians.While the terms of the current assemblies in Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura don't end
until March 12, 15 and 22, respectively, the EC decided to wrap up polling in February with an eye on the school board examinations, said
chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar, flanked by election commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel.Sources said polling in Tripura
was scheduled first because of the threat of violence, requiring a larger concentration of central paramilitary forces
Also, Tripura being a railhead allows direct access to central forces, some of which have already reached the state
Once polling is completed in Tripura, most of these forces will move to Nagaland and Meghalaya
The 12-day gap between polling in Tripura and the other two states is meant to facilitate the process.EC announces assembly election dates
for Tripura, Nagaland and MeghalayaWatchEC announces assembly election dates for Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya
