Ravi Shankar Prasad, Himanta Biswa Sarma to lead BJP’s poll preparations in Northeast
, ET Bureau|
Updated: Oct 04, 2017, 07.50 PM IST
GUWAHATI: Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will spearhead BJP’s efforts to win at least 20 Lok Sabha seats from Northeast India in 2019, including 13 held currently by opposition parties.
BJP president Amit Shah has drawn up big plans for the eight states of Northeast India. The BJP had floated a platform of non-Congress parties, the Northeast Democratic Alliance (NEDA), with a roadmap to increase its seats from the region.
Northeast India, including Sikkim, sends 25 MPs to the Lok Sabha. In 2014, the NDA won 11 seats from the region — on its own, the BJP won seven in Assam and one in Arunachal Pradesh, while allies Naga Peoples Front, Sikkim Democratic Front and National People's Party got one each.
Prasad recently visited Assam to make a spot assessment of the political situation. He is being made in charge of five Lok Sabha seats in Assam.
In 2014, the Congress won three seats (Silchar, Autonomous districts and Koliabor) in Assam, while the All India United Democratic Front got Barpeta, Dhubri and Karimganj. The Kokrajhar seat went to an independent candidate.
The Congress won one seat each in Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and two in Manipur, while the Left Front got both the seats in Tripura.
BJP’s strategist for Northeast India and the NEDA convener, Himanta Biswa Sarma, told ET: “Ravi Shankar Prasad will look after five Lok Sabha seats in Assam which were won by the opposition in 2014, while I will look after seven Lok Sabha seats spread across the region.”
He added, “Other seats are being looked after by our MPs. We have a target of winning 20 seats from the region and we are working in this regard. We are targeting our biggest ever seat tally in Northeast India.”
BJP president Amit Shah will spend a considerable time in reviewing the poll preparedness in the region. A senior BJP leader, who didn’t want to be named, said: “Presently Shah is focusing on Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh which are going to polls by the end of this year. For two months Shah will devotedly work in these states and after that will come to Northeast India where in 2018 four states — Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura — are going to polls.”
The BJP is in power in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. It is a part of the ruling coalition in Nagaland.
BJP president Amit Shah has drawn up big plans for the eight states of Northeast India. The BJP had floated a platform of non-Congress parties, the Northeast Democratic Alliance (NEDA), with a roadmap to increase its seats from the region.
Northeast India, including Sikkim, sends 25 MPs to the Lok Sabha. In 2014, the NDA won 11 seats from the region — on its own, the BJP won seven in Assam and one in Arunachal Pradesh, while allies Naga Peoples Front, Sikkim Democratic Front and National People's Party got one each.
Prasad recently visited Assam to make a spot assessment of the political situation. He is being made in charge of five Lok Sabha seats in Assam.
In 2014, the Congress won three seats (Silchar, Autonomous districts and Koliabor) in Assam, while the All India United Democratic Front got Barpeta, Dhubri and Karimganj. The Kokrajhar seat went to an independent candidate.
The Congress won one seat each in Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and two in Manipur, while the Left Front got both the seats in Tripura.
BJP’s strategist for Northeast India and the NEDA convener, Himanta Biswa Sarma, told ET: “Ravi Shankar Prasad will look after five Lok Sabha seats in Assam which were won by the opposition in 2014, while I will look after seven Lok Sabha seats spread across the region.”
He added, “Other seats are being looked after by our MPs. We have a target of winning 20 seats from the region and we are working in this regard. We are targeting our biggest ever seat tally in Northeast India.”
BJP president Amit Shah will spend a considerable time in reviewing the poll preparedness in the region. A senior BJP leader, who didn’t want to be named, said: “Presently Shah is focusing on Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh which are going to polls by the end of this year. For two months Shah will devotedly work in these states and after that will come to Northeast India where in 2018 four states — Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura — are going to polls.”
The BJP is in power in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. It is a part of the ruling coalition in Nagaland.
