BJP sticks to 2018 election alliances in Tripura, Nagaland

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, January 29

With the Assembly elections in Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya just round the corner, the BJP has stuck to the 2018 electoral arrangements in the hope of repeating its performance in the northeast.

Poll strategy going with IPFT in TRIPURA

• The BJP has sealed a seat-sharing agreement with the IPFT
• The IPFT has agreed to contest five seats as against BJP’s 55 pact with ndpp in NAGALAND
• The NDPP and BJP have finalised a 40:20 seat-sharing arrangement
• The BJP claims the United Democratic Alliance will form government solo act in MEGHALAYA
• The BJP has stuck to the 2018 plan when it went solo
• It has strengthened its position with four Opposition MLAs joining the BJP

In Tripura and Nagaland, the saffron party has retained old allies — the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) and the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), respectively.

The BJP pulled off a last-minute surprise on Saturday, sealing a seat-sharing agreement with the IPFT, which has agreed to contest five seats as against BJP’s 55 — a climb down from 2018 when the IPFT had contested nine tribal seats of Tripura and won eight, while the BJP had contested 51 seats and won 35.

The BJP has declared all 55 Tripura candidates for the February 16 elections, leaving five for the IPFT with whom it had ended the 25-year Left rule in the state in 2018.

In Nagaland, the NDPP and the BJP have finalised the 40:20 seat-sharing arrangement, as was the case in 2018 when the alliance had formed the government.

BJP incharge for Nagaland Nalin Kohli told The Tribune the ruling United Democratic Alliance partners — the NDPP and the BJP — were poised to form the government in Nagaland, which had no opposition.

“The BJP never leaves its allies, as is clear in Nagaland and Tripura. The NDPP will be contesting 40 seats in Nagaland and the BJP 20. We had won 12 of the 20 seats in 2018,” Kohli said. Asked who BJP’s challenger was, he quipped, “Good question as Nagaland is without an opposition.”

However, the two challenges for the NDPP-BJP alliance in Nagaland are the Nagaland Socialist Council of Nagalim (IM)’s persistent demand for a separate flag and a Constitution, and Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation demand for Frontier Nagaland with seven eastern districts of the state.

In Meghalaya, too, the BJP has stuck to the 2018 plan when it went solo and became part of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance led by Conrad Sangma of the National People’s Party (NPP) in a post-poll arrangement.

Meanwhile, the BJP has strengthened its position in Meghalaya this year with four MLAs (two from the ruling NPP, one Independent and one from the TMC) joining the party in December 2022. In 2018, the BJP had won two seats in Meghalaya, while its vote share jumped from 1.5 per cent in 2013 to 9.7 per cent in 2018.

Nagaland and Meghalaya go to polls on February 27.