BJP's promise for issue-less NE by 2024
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: July 05, 2022 -

WITH the opposition parties still a divided house and voices of dissent or discontent overshadowing nearly every decision taken by the Congress leadership, there is strong possibility of the BJP holding the rein of power at the centre for the next few terms as was stated by Union home minister Amit Shah during the party's national executive meeting held in Hyderabad on Sunday.

Notwithstanding his assertion that the next 30 to 40 years will be the era of the BJP and consequently make India a world leader, Amit Shah also acknowledged that the saffron party still faces challenges from sub-national regional parties in southern states and the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal in its pursuit to cement BJP's stature as a pan-India party.

Indeed, the BJP has been on a roll after toppling the Congress-led government in 2014 and its strong presence in the northeast region, which used to be the Congress' bastion, is making it believe that finding a foothold in hitherto uncharted territories would materialise with successive elections.

The party's rhetoric against dynastic politics has been one of the biggest factors for collapse of Congress governments in the central and northern parts of the country but has been unable to make much inroad into southern states, Odisha and West Bengal where regional parties continue to rule the roost despite launch of vigorous campaigns in the last few elections.

Thus, it is obvious that BJP's electoral agenda will be to form governments in states where power has so far remained out of its reach.

The recent political development in Maharashtra that ended with BJP sharing power with the breakaway group of Shiv Sena legislators is yet another indication of the saffron party's goal to not waste any opportunity to keep the Congress party at bay.

Without an rota of doubt, BJP' has been successfully projecting its governments as development and people-oriented.

However, it is the statement of Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who reflected on Amit Shah's speech at the national meet during a media briefing, that all the issues besetting the north-eastern states would be resolved by 2024.

Like it or not, forming governments and retaining power in the northeast region wouldn't be an arduous task for the BJP as long as it manages to helm the affairs in New Delhi for the simple reason that almost all states in this part of the country are dependent on generosity of the Union government and the denizens generally favour the ruling party.

It is exactly the reason why the Congress which ruled the region for decades is rapidly losing its foothold and consequently making the BJP's foray into the northeast unstoppable.

As stated by Himanta Biswa, BJP has a permanent address in the northeast and it is going nowhere, but his claim that issues afflicting the region would be settled in two years' time seems presumptuous.

However, it is wished that Himanta realises his objective and help denizens in some restive NE states like Nagaland, Manipur and his very own Assam, where insurgency issues remain unsolved, taste lasting peace and development.