How do we see the results of the recently concluded elections in Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland? After the elections, the BJP has formed the government in Tripura on its own and in the other two states also it is a party to the governments. So one can say that the BJP has done well in the elections. But if we observe the results a little closely we shall find that except Tripura it has not done well. Even in Tripura, its vote share has reduced. In Meghalaya, it had to be happy only with two seats.
Here let us discuss a few things about the general trends of politics of the northeast. The Northeast is always known as a miniature India for its variety and colourfulness. For years, local problems and identity politics have determined the politics of the region. Many regional political parties have also come up on these issues. What is the identity of the Northeast? Our identity is nothing but the blending of our economy and culture.
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Again, the culture of a place is determined by its historical, geographical and climatic conditions. Identity is not a static thing. It may also change over the course of time. Among the states of northeast India, Assam and Tripura have some commonalities. In both, these states influx of people from outside the states has played an important role. In Tripura, the outsiders have outnumbered the local people. In Assam’s politics too, this has been an issue for the last 100 years.
Years back the ‘existence of Assamese people’ was the most hotly debated thing. Then it becomes connected with the issue of self-determination. The main concern for the people of Meghalaya, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram was the issue of self-determination. Once almost all the states of the northeast saw the rise of extremism and terrorist activities except Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya. But, presently extremism and terrorist violence have subsided in all the states.
However, whenever we discuss the politics of the region, invariably the issues of autonomy and self-determination come up. But we don’t know if this has benefited the common man in the region. We have also seen another thing. Though the politics of identity predominates the politics of the region and there are many regional parties espousing the same thing in different ways, after a time, almost all the regional political parties turn into powerbrokers. They shamelessly compromise everything for power. If it is the Congress at the Centre they will be with the Congress and if it is the BJP at the Centre they will be with the BJP.
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The ruling parties at the Centre also took full advantage of this weakness of the regional parties. So instead of bringing any meaningful changes to the life of the people, the demand for self-determination and autonomy has just become the tactics for capturing power. That is how the people of the region have been deceived by the political class again and again. Again, there is a difference between siding with Congress and siding with the BJP. The Congress is a party with liberal ideals. But the BJP is thoroughly a centrist party and its ideology is underpinned by the Hindutva and spreading of the Hindi language.
The Hindu- Hindi ideology is completely an antithesis of the ethos of the northeast. It seems the regional political parties have no problem with this ideology too. They are only striving for power. The Naga nationalism had a vibrant past. But now it is subsumed into the BJP as is the case with the AGP in Assam. During the electioneering, the attacks between the BJP and Conrad Sangma were most vitriolic. But the moment election results were declared both the parties hurried their differences and suddenly became friendly.
Now they have jointly formed the government in Meghalaya. It shows how they preach one thing and practise just the opposite. However, despite all this, we cannot blame it on the common man. They have cast their votes quite judiciously wherever they could. BJP is so resourceful still they got only 33 seats in Tripura just enough to form the government. In Meghalaya, the BJP got only two seats. But in Nagaland, the land of self-determination, BJP performed the best. In its desperate drive for power, the issue of greater Naga Nationalism was thrown into the air.
There was another aspect to the recently concluded elections. The Trinamul Congress fielded many candidates in Tripura and Meghalaya. Though the party managed to get a few seats in Meghalaya it completely flopped in Tripura. All their pre-election noise turned into a whimper once the results were out. Of course, they did a lot of damage to the Congress in Meghalaya. So from now onward it would be good on the part of Mamata Banerjee to concentrate on the politics of Bengal only. She should give a good fight to the BJP in West Bengal. People who thought the TMC would be a game changer in the politics of the Northeast should abandon that hope now.