The Election Commission statistics indicate that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is poised to form the next government in Tripura and Nagaland. BJP has also solidified its grip on Meghalaya, where the party has increased its seat tally. In all three states, BJP held the reins of government with its coalition partners.
While BJP is rejoicing over its impressive performance, Congress is bemoaning the loss of its electoral relevance with recent poll results serving as additional proof of the same. The outcome of the assembly elections in three northeastern states is seen by the Congress “as a setback for the grand old party.”
Akhilesh Pratap Singh, the spokesperson of the Congress, stated that the three northeastern states’ election outcomes are not what he had anticipated. “This is a huge blow to our party,” he added.
Another party spokesman, Supriya Shrinate, defended her party at the same time by claiming that the results of the elections cannot be extrapolated to the entire country. She further alleged that people in charge of the central government triumphed in the elections in the northeast.
Congress’ election campaign has also drawn criticism from political analysts. Prominent Congress leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi who were named star campaigners weren’t even present in Tripura, while Rahul Gandhi held only one political rally in Meghalaya.
In contrast, BJP was actively involved in election campaigns across the 3 states. Numerous senior leaders, including prime minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, and union minister Kiren Rijiju, along with party president Jagat Prakash Nadda were doing rallies for the party.
Since 2017, Northeast India has witnessed 47 visits from PM Narendra Modi. Since Independence, no prime minister has made as many visits as PM Modi has in the last 5 years.