New Delhi: A new political force is taking shape in the Northeast, with the BJP’s Tripura ally TIPRA Motha joining hands with Meghalaya’s ruling National People’s Party (NPP) to launch a common platform to represent the region’s interests on the national stage.
While the leaders behind the initiative are keeping their cards close to the chest, sources told ThePrint that the announcement of the new outfit, which could also be a political party, will be made next week in Delhi in the presence of Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and TIPRA Motha founder Pradyot Debbarman.
It is learnt that former Congress leader Daniel Langthasa, who launched the People’s Party in September in Assam’s North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council, will also be a part of the outfit, along with Nagaland’s Mmhonlumo Kikon, who was BJP’s sole national spokesperson hailing from the Northeast until August when he quit the party.
“It has the potential to reshape the region’s political landscape. It may seem like a sudden development but behind it is months of quiet but persistent efforts,” said a leader involved in the talks leading to the decision.
This fresh realignment is also significant as it comes against the backdrop of the merger of the Naga People’s Front and the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) in Nagaland. In recent months, many of these leaders, including Pradyot and Langthasa had been using the phrase “One Northeast” in their public statements, indicating that it could be the name of the new entity.
“Most of us representing the rights of indigenous communities in the Northeast have felt slighted by the national parties. Many of our leaders keep waiting to get even appointments from leaders of the ruling BJP in Delhi. It was painfully evident our joining forces was the only answer. But for that, egos had to be cast aside. And that is gradually happening,” said a leader finalising the pact.
Incidentally, Pradyot had campaigned for the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) during the election to the Bodoland Territorial Council in September. The BPF won a landslide victory in the elections, relegating the BJP, which was hoping to capture the tribal council without the support of any ally, to a distant third.
There were other indications too of a new alignment taking shape in the region. For instance, after Daniel, the son of Congress leader Nindu Langthasa who was killed by Dima Halam Daogah militants in 2007, launched his party in September, Pradyot had written to him, underlining the need for a common platform.
“The time has come for us not just as individuals, but as leaders of our respective regions to collaborate and build a common platform for indigenous voices across the Northeast,” Pradyot, the titular head of the erstwhile royal family of Tripura, wrote. “Our challenges are the same be it illegal immigration, loss of land and identity, political underrepresentation, corruption, and the erosion of cultural heritage, so must be our response, unified, strategic, and bold. I believe that together, we can work towards creating a powerful regional movement.”
In October 2023, Sangma, while campaigning for the TIPRA Motha in Tripura, had also urged the indigenous communities of the Northeast to join hands, putting aside differences for a “constitutional solution” for the tribals of the region encompassing Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.
In July 2024, parties governing the 10 autonomous councils had joined hands to push for an early passage of the 125th Constitutional Amendment Bill that would empower these bodies with greater financial and executive powers.
The 10 councils, formed under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, are spread across Sixth Schedule areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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