Following the trend in the rest of the country, the Congress has put up a remarkable show in the recent Lok Sabha polls conducted in the northeastern states, where the BJP and its alliances were ruling.
In a significant departure, the grand old party won two seats in Manipur, in addition to one seat each in Nagaland and Meghalaya, thus winning three seats in Assam. This is in contrast to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, in which the BJP won nine seats in Assam and lost two in Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh while ruling in these states and Manipur.
The significant point here is that the BJP's alliances, including the National People's Party (NPP) had to suffer losses, which included losing both Meghalaya seats to the Congress and Voice of the People Party. The other lost by the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) in Nagaland, their only seat, to the Congress.
But the BJP's alliances in the form of United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) won one seat each in Assam while the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) in Sikkim also won one.
In the 2019 elections, of the total 25 Lok Sabha seats in the eight northeastern states, the BJP won 14, while the Congress could manage only four, and the remaining went to state parties and one Independent.
Though part of the NDA's northeast Chapter, the MNF said they would maintain equidistance from the BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led INDIA block.
Political surprises were not missing as Meghalaya Congress president Vincent H. Pala lost the election though he managed to win the Shillong Lok Sabha seat on three consecutive occasions since 2009. But Saleng A. Sangma of the Congress won from Tura seat by defeating the ruling NPP nominee Agatha K. Sangma.
Observers cite the long-running ethnic violence in Manipur and unresolved ethnic issues in Nagaland and Meghalaya as possible factors that may have impacted the election results.
Incidentally, the Eastern Nagaland People's Organization (ENPO) called upon its supporters in six districts of the state's eastern region to boycott the election in the first phase in support of their demand for a separate state.
Assessing the performance of his party, Tripura Congress President Asish Kumar Saha credited Congress victory to Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' that started in Manipur on January 14. Saha observed that Gandhi's journey to the region, during which he raised the issue of five 'guarantees' (Nyay) and visited most of the northeastern states, struck a chord with voters and translated into votes in favour of the Congress.
