Aditi Tandon
New Delhi, December 14
With the induction of four sitting MLAs of Meghalaya into its fold on Wednesday, the BJP is all set to make inroads into the only northeastern state where it does not have any significant presence.
Though the BJP is part of the ruling NPP alliance led by CM Conrad Sangma, it aims at an independent standing by 2023.
The four sitting MLAs who joined the party ahead of 2023 elections are HM Shangpliang, Samuel Sangma, Ferlin CA Sangma and Benedic Marak.
While Ferlin Sangma and Benedic Marak have switched over from the ruling NPP, HM Shangpliang belonged to the opposition TMC. Samuel Sangma was an Independent MLA of Baghmara Assembly constituency before joining the BJP today.
In the NE, the BJP is currently in power in Assam, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and part of the ruling alliances in Sikkim, Mizoram and Nagaland.
Meghalaya is the last NE bastion the BJP seeks to conquer.
That explains today’s development with two of the ruling NPP MLAs also joining the saffron fold amid indications that not all was well with the ruling NPP coalition.
The joinings happened in the presence of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra.
Sarma is also the convenor of North East Democratic Alliance and BJP’s strategist in the region.
“The northeast has been mainstreamed completely under the BJP rule and three BJP state governments (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur) have been re-elected to power, highlighting that the party now has a permanent address in the state. The BJP will register spectacular wins in upcoming polls in Tripura and Nagaland, besides Meghalaya,” Sarma said.
The Assam CM said today’s inductions would mark a new beginning in Meghalaya.
The joinings came on a day when TMC chief Mamata Banerjee was in Shillong and attacked the BJP led Centre for neglecting the northeast.
The BJP had won just two of 60 seats in Meghalaya in the 2018 elections.
