Amid scrutiny of the performance of the BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) in the Lok Sabha elections, convener of the coalition and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that the bloc is not working as it used to before he took over as Assam CM. Reacting to the Assam CM, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said Sarma should resign as NEDA convener.
Formed in 2016, the BJP-headed NEDA is an alliance of non-Congress parties in the North East.
Addressing the media on Thursday, Sarma said: “NEDA is not working as it used to before I became the CM of the state. I have been asked by the central leadership to focus more on development of Assam as I am now the CM. Even for Lok Sabha elections, I was not asked to campaign in any other state in the Northeast, except for Arunachal Pradesh. And you see the results there for the BJP.”
“I am not much aware of what happened in other northeastern states in the elections. In seats we lost in Manipur, it’s the religious leaders who were contesting elections. When a religious leader is contesting elections, no political leader can take over it. In certain states, results were unexpected. In seats like Tura, the defeat of Agatha Sangma was unexpected. In Sikkim, our partner SKM has done well. In Arunachal and Tripura, we have done well. As Assam shares a border with most northeastern states, I was asked not to go campaigning in most states,” he added.
In the northeastern states of India, excluding Assam, most alliance partners of NEDA lost, except for in Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, and Sikkim. In Arunachal Pradesh, the BJP maintained its dominance, winning both seats with substantial margins. Meghalaya saw a mixed outcome, with the VPP securing one seat in Shillong and the Congress winning the other in Tura.
In Manipur, there was a significant political shift, with the Congress making a strong comeback by winning both seats, signalling a change in voter sentiment and dissatisfaction with the BJP amid months of ethnic violence and strife.
In Mizoram, the ZPM retained the lone seat and Tripura followed the regional trend, with the BJP winning both seats and solidifying its presence in the Northeast. However, in Nagaland, the NDPP-BJP alliance faced a setback, losing both seats to the Congress, marking a surprising turn in the state’s political dynamics.
Sikkim saw the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) maintain control of its single seat, demonstrating the regional party’s ongoing influence.
Reacting to CM Himanta Biswa Sarma’s comment on NEDA performance in Northeast, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi told News18: “Himanta Biswa Sarma should resign as NEDA convener looking at the results of NDA in the Northeast. It is shameful that instead he is targeting a particular community for his failure. In Assam as well, his statements targeting a particular community have been rejected by majority of the people and the results show that.”
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