Himanta Sarma: Deal-maker for a Saffron sunrise in the northeast


PTI, Mar 2, 2023, 5:18 PM IST

The man who stitched together the various alliances which saw BJP’s sun rising in the Northeast has done it again.

BJP’s poster boy from the region, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has emerged as the party’s deal maker, flying almost “on a daily basis” to all the three states of the northeast where polls where held in February this year in between running his own state.

First by picking on Neiphiu Rio as the man to bank upon and piggyback to power for a second term in the insurgency ridden state of Nagaland and then by helping Delhi pick up the unassuming Manik Saha as the man who could undo the damage to the saffron party’s popularity in the vital border state of Tripura.

Last, but not the least by getting Conrad Sangma who broke off his NPP party’s alliance with BJP just before the election to Meghalaya’s assembly, back on the negotiating table for a possible tie-up with the right-wing party in case he fell short of the majority mark.

Sangma is believed to have had two rounds of meetings with Sarma on the issue and some kind of a rapprochement seems to have been worked out. ”Since people put their faith on us with a bigger mandate than last time, there is a high probability of consolidation of the earlier partners,” NPP spokesperson Ampareen Lyngdoh said when asked if NPP will ally with the BJP.

Backroom deals were attempted to even win the Tipra Motha, founded by scion of Tripura’s erstwhile princely family by Sarma, though the tougher and possibly more wily negotiators from among former militants sent by Motha proved a tougher nut to crack. Former militant-turned president of Tipra Motha had told PTI in an interview a few weeks back, that attempts had been made for a pre-poll alliance, without success. “We met in Guwahati … we were invited by Assam CM (Himanta Biswa Sarma). Two more BJP leaders came from Delhi … we declined as they said we cannot agree (to a separate Tipraland),” he said, though he held out the possibility of extending outside support under certain circumstances and subject to caveats.

Sarma, whose stock is high in Delhi had earlier captured eyeballs as the BJP’s first star campaigner from the region in far away Gujarat and Delhi.

Be it the imposition of Uniform Civil Code (UCC), PFI ban, passing of the Cattle Protection Act, calling for specific policy measures for slowing down minority population growth or bulldozing of “illegal” villages, Sarma has left no stone unturned to push forward assertively the right-wing party’s key agenda in his home state and in states where he has campaigned.

However, interestingly, these pet projects of his, which could have made him unpopular in Christian-dominated states like Nagaland and Meghalaya seems to have become non-factors in his political wheeling-dealings in these very states.

Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.

Top News

Virat Kohli doesn’t need our support, but we need the support of Kohli: Bumrah

INDIA bloc seeking JPC probe into Adani ‘scam’, govt scared of debate: Congress after LS, RS adjourned

Burglars decamp with cash Rs 1 crore, 300 gold sovereigns from house in Kerala

Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls

Perth Test: Bumrah leads India to its biggest Test win on Australian soil

Sambhal violence: FIR against SP MP Zia-ur-Rehman Barq, SP MLA’s son

Six junior artists of Kannada film ‘Kantara’ injured in accident in Karnataka

Related Articles More

Delhi Police arrests man for stealing gold jewellery worth Rs 1 crore

INDIA bloc seeking JPC probe into Adani ‘scam’, govt scared of debate: Congress after LS, RS adjourned

Youth Congress demands Adani’s arrest over USD 250 mn bribery charge

RG Kar protests: SC orders SIT probe into custodial torture case, weekly reports before HC

Burglars decamp with cash Rs 1 crore, 300 gold sovereigns from house in Kerala

MUST WATCH

Coconut Flower

Prakash Belawadi

Naxal Leader Vikram Gowda

Christmas Cake Fruit Mixing

DK Shivakumar


Latest Additions

Delhi Police arrests man for stealing gold jewellery worth Rs 1 crore

Virat Kohli doesn’t need our support, but we need the support of Kohli: Bumrah

INDIA bloc seeking JPC probe into Adani ‘scam’, govt scared of debate: Congress after LS, RS adjourned

Ranbir on criticism for doing ‘Sanju’, ‘Animal’: Important to dabble in different genres, characters

Youth Congress demands Adani’s arrest over USD 250 mn bribery charge

Thanks for visiting Udayavani

You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.