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North East scenario

	April 12, 2004

PM launches BJP campaign in Assam

Prime Minister Vajpayee who is on a country-wide mission to campaign for his party (BJP) and the ruling NDA, reached Guwahati, capital of Assam, on April 6. Addressing an election rally there, he called upon the electorate to vote for the BJP so as to enable him to solve problems of the region.

In his 30-minute speech, Vajpayee warned Bangladesh against continuous infiltration from that country and highlighted the need for repeal of the IMDT Act, an issue which is also a potent weapon of the ruling Congress and the Opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP).

The Prime Minister expressed the apprehension that the Assamese would be reduced to a minority if the border with Bangladesh is not protected to check infiltration.

The All-Assam Students Union, which spearheaded the movement and signed the historic Assam Accord in 1985, had been demanding steps to check the “unabated” infiltration across the border.

An apparent attempt to appease the militant elements in the region, the Prime Minister offered to hold talks with such outfits as the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) provided they give up violence.

The Prime Minister highlighted the accord signed with the now disbanded Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT), and the creation of a territorial council as an example of a militant outfit giving up violence and realising the need of resolving their problem through peaceful means. Besides, the Centre has also expedited the Naga peace process.

Vajpayee also claimed credit for bringing about a peaceful atmosphere in Nagaland but hinted that things would not be well if the Nagas did not give up violence.

Introducing the party’s candidate for the Guwahati Lok Sabha constituency, Bhupen Hazarika, the Prime Minister said he was very happy that Hazarika chose to join the BJP.

Hazarika, in his short speech, described Vajpayee as a worshipper of peace. He promised to become a torch-bearer of Vajpayee’s vision and lift up the darkness engulfing Assam, which he attributed to the abject negligence towards the State by the Congress during its five-decade-long rule.

Observers, however, note that during his visit, Vajpayee did not explain why his government tabled a Bill to repeal the IMDT only toward the end of the 13th Lok Sabha. He was silent on the Centre’s apparent lack of drive on completing the fencing along the Indo-Bangla border. The reality is that the people of Assam are weary of political promises on infiltration and the IMDT.

Observers also point out that all parties have overlooked the violence and tension between Karbi and Kuki tribes in Karbi Anglong hill district despite the loss of over 40 lives in conflicts there in the run-up to the polls. The parties have failed to realise the Kukis’ determination for a separate regional council. It is a demand which has the capacity to set fire to the entire hill district. The situation appears to be turning for the worse with many forces trying to meddle to gain mileage. The Karbis and Kukis appear to be pawns in a much bigger game plan involving other militant groups as well as security agencies.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi is slated to visit Assam this week. So far Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and local leaders have been campaigning for the party.



Left strategy

Meanwhile, the Assam unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has dropped hints that it might support Congress candidate Kirip Chaliha to ensure the defeat of music maestro Bhupen Hazarika who is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Guwahati on a BJP ticket.

Releasing the party manifesto, Hemen Das, former MLA and general secretary of the CPM’s Assam unit, expressed shock and anguish that a personality like Hazarika, who had joined politics with a Leftist ideology, is now in the “extreme right” camp. “Hazarika exploited the Leftist ideology to earn a name and fame as a singer,” he accused.

Das said the CPM considers both the Congress and the BJP as evil. “But the Congress is the lesser evil. The party will not allow BJP candidates to win under any circumstance,” he added.

The Left parties in the state are projecting themselves as an alternative to the Congress, the BJP and the AGP. They have decided to field common candidates in seven parliamentary constituencies. The CPM has fielded Manoranjan Talukdar and Nurul Huda from Barpeta and Silchar constituencies respectively.

The CPI(M-L) has fielded Rubul Sarmah, Jayanta Rongi and Subhash Sen from Tezpur, Diphu and Dibrugarh respectively.

The CPI will contest the poll from Jorhat and Dhubri. In Jorhat it has fielded Dhrupad Borgohain, who recently retired as a Rajya Sabha member.

Dipankar Bhattacharyya, the all-India general secretary of the CPI(M-L), had told reporters in the city recently that the regional parties in the Northeast were fast losing their credibility and the BJP, with its “nasty” gameplan, was trying to hijack the issues of the former.

Instead of the AGP, the BJP is trying to champion the cause of the repeal of the controversial Illegal Migration (Determination by Tribunal) Act, he said.

“Though a regional party, the AGP is fighting the poll only with an anti-BJP tag and not on regional issues. As the AGP has failed the people, the Left parties have emerged as the viable alternative against the Congress and the BJP,” he said.



Meghalaya

In neighbouring Meghalaya, the political parties contesting the two Lok Sabha seats in Shillong and Tura are more focused on finding fault with each other than spelling out action plans to solve the problems of the insurgency-hit state where development has taken a back seat.

The spotlight is on Tura in the Garo hills where former Lok Sabha Speaker and seven time MP, Purno A Sangma is in a straight fight with Congress opponent Mukul Sangma.

P.A. Sangma is contesting the polls under the symbol of the Trinamul Congress of Mamata Banerjee, with which he merged his rump Nationalist Congress Party after losing the battle of the symbol to Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar.

This poll is a critical test for survival for the veteran politician who merged his group with Trinamul Congress without consulting senior colleagues in the North-east, much to their outrage, because he needed the symbol of a recognised party to fight the polls.

The Congress is making a poll issue out of P.A. Sangma’s “proximity” to the Garo armed group, the A’chik National Volunteer Council (ANVC). Mukul Sangma is accusing his opponents of trying to win with ANVC. Clearly, the election here is fought more on the oratorical skills of candidates than on issues plaguing the common folk such as the endemic poverty and infrastructure problems in the Garo Hills - the main town of Tura reeled from a month of water shortages before the state government or Purno Sangma or the Shillong media woke up to it.

Shillong is a three-cornered contest among Congress nominee and sitting MP, P.R. Kyndiah, BJP’s Sanbor Swell Lyngdoh and Regional Parties’ Alliance candidate S Loniak Marbaniang but the veteran Kyndiah has the edge. And the RPA comprising four regional parties in the state is having difficulties explaining to voters why it has combined against Congress, its coalition partner in Meghalaya.