BJP sounds poll bugle for 4 NE state assembly polls

Upbeat after dismantling Congress-led governments in several northeastern states, the BJP sounded the bugle for the upcoming Assembly elections in Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Mizoram, at the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) conclave in Delhi on Tuesday.

If all goes well and the Centre manages to sign the Naga Accord, putting an end to the decades-old insurgency problem in the next couple of months, the BJP may even take the unthinkable step of fighting elections on all 60 seats in Nagaland in next year’s Assembly elections, party sources told DNA.

For the record, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju has refused to give a time frame for signing of the Naga Accord, while maintaining that it was going in the right direction and was in the advanced stage. Another key party figure in the northeast said it was going to be a different ball game in Tripura as after winning six TMC MLAs, the party is pretty confident of upstaging Manik Sarkar-led CPM government or at least emerge as a close second.

The NEDA conclave, chaired by BJP Chief Amit Shah and attended by five Chief Ministers, three former Chief Ministers, BJP National General Secretaries Ram Lal and Ram Madhav, …read more