18/25: Lotus blooms in North-East

New Delhi, May 24

When protests on the citizenship Bill erupted in North-East India earlier this year, many believed it had spoiled the BJP’s chances in the region for the Lok Sabha polls.

Yet, the saffron party and its allies walked away with 18 of the 25 seats up for grabs in the north-eastern states, successfully weathering the storm of unrest that rocked most parts of Assam, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.

The Congress was restricted to just four seats, while its allies bagged two. One constituency was won by an Independent candidate.

When protests broke out against the Centre’s plan to bring the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 — dubbed to be against the interest of the indigenous people of the region — many political commentators believed that it would mar BJP’s chances in the elections in the North-East.

The Bill had proposed to give citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis from Muslim-majority Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Proving naysayers wrong, BJP and its allies gained majorly, especially in Assam where 14 seats were up for grabs. BJP won nine seats in the state. In 2014, the saffron party had won seven seats.

On the other hand, the Congress won three seats, the same as in 2014. Its ally AIUDF won one seat, down from three in 2014. — PTI