BJP charades

The so-called Modi wave failed miserably in Meghalaya. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top guns of the BJP including Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam CM Himanta Sarma who campaigned extensively in Meghalaya failed to create any magic for the party this time too. The saffron party may have gained control in Tripura and Nagaland on its own or in alliance with regional parties since coming to power at the Centre in 2014 but has never quite managed to penetrate Meghalaya. So, what is the BJP celebrating and what is the media trying to project?

Hours after the results of the three northeastern states were announced on 2 March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a gathering at the BJP headquarters and all major media outlets reported that Modi addressed the BJP supporters “after the party’s success in Northeast assembly polls.”

Modi said that the ‘successful’ election results were because of the hard work of the BJP workers in all the states. He went on to say that the reason for the victory of the BJP is ‘Triveni’ (the combination of three streams) which includes the work of the BJP government, the work style of the BJP and the karyakartas of the BJP. These three, he said, were the three secrets of BJP’s electoral victory.

Until 2018, BJP was a non-entity in Tripura. About a year before assembly elections there, Amit Shah simply did his usual “handiwork” and took over Tripura Congress and made it into Tripura BJP. Most of those elected on the BJP ticket were ex-Congressmen, including their CM. Besides, Pradyot Manikya exiting Congress and forming TIPRA in 2019 weakened the Congress party there. The rise of NPP in Meghalaya, which has now become the only national party in India originating in the NE, was proportionally related to the downfall of Congress in that state. Further, the former Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma leaving the Congress and now leading Mamata Banerjee’s AITC in Meghalaya also contributed to Congress’ dismal show in Meghalaya. The BJP has nothing to do with the downfall of Congress in Tripura and Meghalaya. Likewise, the return of NPF in 2003 in Nagaland and the founding of NDPP thereafter in 2017 were primarily responsible for the ousting of Congress party from the state. Here too, it was not the BJP’s doing that led to the downfall of the Congress.

In Meghalaya, BJP contested for 47 seats in 2018 but won just 2 seats. In 2023, the BJP contested in all 60 assembly constituencies but failed to improve on its 2018 tally as they won only 2 seats this time too. In Tripura in 2018, BJP contested in 51 constituencies and managed to win 36 seats which actually dropped to 32 despite contesting 55 seats in 2023. In Nagaland, as per the seat sharing arrangement between NDPP and BJP, the latter contested in 20 constituencies and won 12 seats on both occasions – 2018 and 2023. In fact, the BJP lost some of its prominent leaders including a cabinet minister and a national spokesperson.

All of these facts indicate that the ‘Modi wave’ is literally non-existent. In 2023, out of the combined 180 seats in the three NE states of Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland that went to polls, BJP could win only 46 seats which is just one-fourth of the total seats. This certainly is not a ‘wave’ after all. Yet, the BJP is celebrating its “victory” in the three NE states. How the BJP uses the media to their advantage is quite amusing.