The BJP and its allies on Tuesday won all the nine Assembly seats spread over three states in the Northeast where bypolls were held on October 30. The verdict once again reflected the freefall of the Congress, the main Opposition party, in the region.
A highlight of the mandate has been the clean sweep by the BJP and its ally UPPL in Assam, the first election held under the watch of chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma since he took charge of the state in May.
The mandate was attributed to the BJP-led coalition government’s development agenda and the “unrelenting” campaign against drugs, land brokers and corruption, party leaders said.
Of the five seats, the BJP wrested the Thowra and Mariani seats from the Congress and the Bhabanipur seat from the AIUDF.
Its ally, the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL), won Gossaigaon from the Bodoland People’s Front and retained the Tamulpur seat.
The sitting Thowra, Mariani and Bhabanipur MLAs of the Congress had joined the BJP before the bypolls.
United People’s Party Liberal candidate for Tamulpur constituency Jolen Daimary flashes the victory sign after winning in Tamulpur in Baksa district on Tuesday. PTI Photo
Sarma, who had campaigned extensively, said the emphatic win in all the five constituencies was both “humbling and reassuring” and an endorsement of the government policies while promising to continue on the path of vikash pursued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The victory boost the tally of the BJP and allies in the 126-member Assam Assembly to 79 from 74. One seat is vacant following the resignation of former chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and incumbent Union minister. The Congress’ tally now is 27.
The Congress accepted the people’s “vote for development” and hoped the BJP-led government would fulfil its pre-poll promises.
Assam PCC president Bhupen Kumar Borah also said they will continue to build the organisation across the state, a journey which started with the bypolls so they are ready for the 2024 Lok Sabha and 2026 Assembly elections. Assam has 14 Lok Sabha seats.
In neighbouring Meghlaya, the NPP-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance won all three seats. The BJP is part of the ruling alliance.
The NPP won two seats — Rajabala and Mawryngkneng — held by Congress while ally United Democratic Party (UDP) won Mawphlang. Eugeneson Lyngdoh, a former footballer, won the seat represented by his deceased father, an associate member of the UDP.
The Congress finished second in all the three seats.
Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma said it was the victory of the people who believed the government and its development agenda.
The NPP’s strength in the 60-member house rose to 23 and the UDP’s eight. The Congress has 17 MLAs.
Like Assam PCC president Bhupen Kumar Borah, it was a losing debut for Meghalaya PCC president Vincent Pala in the first important polls under their watch.
The Congress watchers in the region said the party appeared listless and lacked imagination. The party needs to reinvent itself was the common refrain.
The Northeast was a Congress bastion but it lost five states and its allies since the rise of the BJP in 2014.
In Mizoram, the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) candidate K. Laldawngliana won the Tuirial Assembly seat by 1,284 votes against Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM)’s Laltlanmawia by a margin of 1,284 votes. The Congress finished third. The MNF has been an BJP-led NDA partner since 2014. But, the BJP contested the bypolls, winning 246 votes.
The death of ZPM-backed MLA in August necessitated the bypolls. The MNF tally in the Assembly rose to 28 in the 40-member House.
