STATE TIMES NEWS
NEW DELHI: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Dr Jitendra Singh said here on Tuesday that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is making gradual but consistent inroads in Northeast and in the last over two years, out of eight North-Eastern States, at least in four States, BJP is in power either as a single party or in coalition or as an ally. This, he said, is quite an incredible headway considering the fact that till a few years ago, nobody could have ever imagined that BJP would ever come to power in any of the North-Eastern States and was never considered a serious reckoner in the political landscape of the region.
Dr Jitendra made these observations when BJP Tripura State President Biplab Kumar Deb called on him along with BJP Tripura State Prabhari (In-charge) Sunil Deodhar here today.
In two states, namely Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, Dr Singh said, the BJP is in power purely on its own strength, whereas in Nagaland we are part of the coalition government and in Sikkim, the ruling Sikkim National Congress is an ally.
Considering that Tripura is due for Assembly election next year, Dr Jitendra expressed the hope that the same trend of BJP capturing North-Eastern States would continue and while half of the States are already with BJP, the other half will also fall in line. In this context, he referred to the upcoming Assembly elections in Manipur, followed by the Assembly elections in Tripura next year.
As for Tripura, Dr Singh said, the people of the state are reeling with anger against 15 years of Communist rule, which patronised corruption and discrimination. He said, the people are vying for change and BJP is ready to offer a viable alternative.
