The Lotus Prevails

BJP sweeps Lok Sabha elections, CAB fails to impact result in the Northeast.

- Nabarun Guha

On January 8, the whole of Northeast had shut down to protest against Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), which the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had vowed to pass. While effigies of BJP leaders were burnt and BJP offices were shut down across the region, few protestors had even thrown Molotov Cocktail at a BJP office in Shillong. Many BJP supporters and workers actually had to go underground for few days till the situation eased up.

Fast forward May 23; As early trends made it clear that Narendra Modi is coming for a second term as Prime Minister, celebrations ensued in the BJP offices in the region. Sweets were distributed, colours were sprinkled and crackers were burst. In 2014, when there was a distinct Modi wave, National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had bagged 10 seats in the Northeast with BJP alone getting 8. This time, despite the controversy surrounding CAB, BJP did even better. Out of 24, BJP and its allies got 17 seats this time, a remarkable achievement for a party which was considered a marginal player in the politics of the Northeast, not very long ago.

CAB Misses the Bus

As protest against CAB intensified across the region few months before the polls, it seemed that BJP had lost considerable ground. Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) their ally in the last election also broke the alliance to show their opposition to CAB. However just before election, AGP resumed the alliance. Reportedly, this move orchestrated by the top leadership of the party had caused much resentment among the party workers. Senior party leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, also opposed the alliance by saying he won’t campaign in this election. However, despite everything, the issue failed to make any impact in the Lok Sabha poll. As per the alliance, BJP leadership handed three seats to AGP - Kaliabor, Dhubri and Barpeta. However, they lost all three, thus returning with zero seats this election.