One North East (ONE) launched by Northeast leaders ahead of Assam polls draws mixed reactions

GUwahati: The promulgation of a young regional political program, single compass north East (ONE), by two prominent northeastern parties on Tuesday has drawn a mixed response from political parties in Assam, which goes to polls early next year.The new platform was launched by Meghalaya chief minister and National People’s Party (NPP) president Conrad K. Sangma, Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA) Motha founder Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, former Nagaland minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Mmhonlumo Kikon, and People’s Party of Assam founder Daniel Langthasa.The platform is aimed at forging a collective voice for the region within the national political framework. The leaders announced the formation of a nine-member committee that will frame the constitution, philosophy, symbol, flag, and other details in the next 45 days.“The formation of the new entity shows that tribal leaders of the region are unhappy with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), which is headed by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma,” Congress leader of opposition in the Assam assembly Debabrata Saikia said.Both NPP, which is heading the ruling coalition in Meghalaya (of which BJP is a minor partner), and TIPRA Motha, which is part of the BJP-led government in Tripura, are part of NEDA, a regional alliance of anti-Congress parties in the northeast headed by the saffron party.“The aggressive Hindutva agenda pursued by the Assam government, with legislations curbing cow slaughter and traditional medicinal practices, has distanced tribal communities in the region, where beef is part of the diet of many and traditional healing methods are practiced widely. The new platform indicates the trust deficit which BJP faces at present in the northeast,” Saikia said.Both NPP and TIPRA Motha haven’t distanced themselves from the BJP yet, but have stressed that they are not in competition with or opposing anyone, and are forming the new platform to raise the issues of indigenous people in the northeast — such as threats to their culture, identity, languages, and influx of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh — in a collective voice.“It’s too early to comment on what’s the stated or hidden purpose of the new platform. They are still partners with BJP in governments and haven’t distanced themselves from the national party. We haven’t been approached by either NPP or TIPRA Motha to join them,” president of Assam Jatiya Parishad Lurinjyoti Gogoi said.The BJP stated that the new platform won’t impact the party in Assam and it won’t be able to make much headway in the poll-bound state.“BJP isn’t concerned with the development. They might have some concerns which they want to raise together in one voice. Both NPP and TIPRA Motha are our partners in National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre and are expected to remain in future,” chief spokesperson of BJP in Assam Roopam Goswami said.