Page 18 - English Tehelka Issue 6 - March 31, 2018

CoverStory presidential polls

he display of the saffron flag in
Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya
is a historic advance for the BJP. It
signifies the Congress party’s deci-
mation and the Bharatiya Janata
Party’s constant assent. With the
T BJP’s standout performance in all
three northeastern states, the party is now in con-
trol of 22 out of 29 states in the country directly or
through allies. The political message is loud and
clear more than just about the symbolism of Con-
gress being reduced literally to a zero in both Tripu-
ra (from 10 seats in 2013) and Nagaland (from 8 seats
in 2013). The BJP now claims to be more than a Hindi
belt party and the only pan-India party.
However, the euphoria over the astounding vic-
tory in North-East has proved short lived for the

• left behind Saffron surges
BJp’s motive of creating in northeast, ousting Left in
Tripura after 25 years
an opposition-free

nation is becoming

a reality. the coming

together of secular and
democratic parties with

a common minimum

programme can

perhaps work

Bhartiya Janta Party as it has got a shocker in Uttar Prasad Ji for the great victory”, giving enough hints the Hindi belt alone, but of people in Assam, continuously for 25 years.
Pradesh and Bihar. In the prestigious parliamentary of possible future tie-ups. Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and now Tripura.
seat of Gorakhpur, vacated by Chief Minister Yogi With presence in most of the states, the BJP will This performance shatters a seven decade-old Chalo Paltai catches fancy
Adityanath who held the seat for record five times be eyeing Karnataka, Odisha, Bengal and Kerala and trend of choices devolving between the Congress From zero seats in 2013 to forming a government
and in Phulpur, vacated by his deputy Keshav Mau- will try to beat anti-incumbency in states like Mad- and local parties. In fact, ever since Mamata Baner- today bears testimony to the efficacy and untiring
rya, the Samajwadi Party with the support of Bahu- hya Pradesh and Rajasthan. jee successfully worsted the CPM in West Bengal, efforts of the party’s poll machinery under Prime
jan Samaj Party of Mayawati has won comfortably. Traditionally, North-Eastern states have the Left has been with its back to the wall. It now Minister Narendra Modi and Party President Amit
Maurya himself admitted that “The BSP has suc- remained inclined towards the party at the Centre faces a serious existential crisis. In the North-East Shah. Of course the slogan of ‘Chalo Paltai’, bor-
cessfully been able to transfer its votes for the SP”. because of the heavy dependence of the region on the BJP’s performance has been, to say the least, rowed from a 2011 Bengali film based on the lives
In Bihar, the Rashtriya Janta Dal registered wins grants and funds. But what makes the BJP’s ascend- spectacular as it has wrested the state of Tripura and desires of the present-day generation, and the
from Araria parliamentary seat and Jahanabad as- ency in the North-East different this time is the away from the Left by winning 43 out of 59 seats promise of development worked and overthrew
sembly seat. West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamta saffron party’s emergence as the party of choice. with its ally. Victory in Tripura carries a huge the ‘sarkar’ of Manik Sarkar. For the record, Tripu-
Banerje was quick to tweet “Congratulations to Lalu This party is not only the party of choice in significance as the Left had been ruling Tripura ra has one of the highest unemployment rates in

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