nda-slips-as-congress-gains-ground-in-northeast

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has retained its position as the largest party in the region for the second consecutive general election. However, the Congress has made significant inroads, nearly doubling its seat count from 2019.

 

The northeast, comprising 25 Lok Sabha constituencies, includes 14 seats in Assam, two each in Manipur, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, and Meghalaya, and one each in Nagaland, Mizoram, and Sikkim.

 

The BJP governs six of these states either independently or through alliances within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

 

In the latest results, the NDA secured 16 seats, down from 19 in 2019.

 

The BJP's tally also decreased slightly from 14 to 13 seats. 

 

The party maintained its hold in Assam and Tripura, winning nine and two seats respectively, as well as in Arunachal Pradesh, where it again secured two seats.

 

Despite this stability in some states, the NDA faced setbacks in Manipur, Meghalaya, and Nagaland.

 

The Congress capitalised on these opportunities, winning seven seats, an increase from four in the previous election.

 

This includes a significant victory in Inner and Outer Manipur, unseating the BJP and the Naga People's Front (NPF), respectively.

 

In Meghalaya, the Congress wrested the Tura seat from the National People's Party (NPP), and in Nagaland, it took the lone seat from the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP).

 

The NPP, NPF, and NDPP are key constituents of the NDA.

 

The losses in these states were partially mitigated by the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the United People’s Party, Liberal (UPPL) in Assam, who won the Barpeta and Kokrajhar seats respectively.

 

The AGP secured its first Lok Sabha seat since 2009, and the UPPL made its debut in the lower house.

 

Adding to the NDA's count, the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM), following a landslide victory in the Sikkim Assembly polls, won the sole seat in the state.

 

The Congress's overall gain of three additional seats from 2019 reflects a growing dissatisfaction with the BJP, especially in Manipur, where the BJP’s handling of ethnic violence became a pivotal issue.

 

In Assam, the Congress reclaimed the Dhubri, Jorhat, and Nagaon seats.

 

The victories in Inner and Outer Manipur marked a comeback after 20 years in Nagaland, highlighting a resurgence in the region.

 

Non-aligned parties also made their presence felt. The ruling Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) in Mizoram and the Voice of the People Party (VPP), a newcomer formed ahead of the 2023 Meghalaya Assembly polls, won in Shillong, a seat long held by the Congress.

 

The election results were largely anticipated, barring surprises in Manipur, Nagaland, and Meghalaya.

 

In particular, the NPP, led by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, was expected to retain Tura but lost to the Congress.

 

Prominent winners include Union Ministers Sarbananda Sonowal (Dibrugarh, Assam) and Kiren Rijiju (Arunachal West), and former Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb (Tripura West) for the BJP. On the Congress side, Gaurav Gogoi triumphed in Jorhat, Assam.

 

Notable losers were former Union ministers Agatha K. Sangma of the NPP (Tura) and Vincent H. Pala of Congress (Shillong).

 

Additionally, All India United Democratic Front chief Maulana Badruddin Ajmal was defeated by Rakibul Hussain of Congress in Assam’s Dhubri seat by a record margin of over 10 lakh votes, preventing what would have been his fourth consecutive term.