Guwahati: With declaration of elections in frontier state of Mizoram on November 28, the battle-lines are drawn as for ruling Congress, it is the last battleground in the Northeast to defend its presence in the region, whereas BJP sees it as an opportunity to accomplish its agenda of ‘Congress-Mukt Nor-theast’.
The BJP has never won a seat in Mizoram, but it has contested five times. However, saffron surge in northeastern states in past two years has given reason to the party to make in roads in another Christian states of the region.
In 2016, five northeastern states — Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram — had Congress-led governments but in last two years, only Mizoram remains under Congress rule. The BJP began its journey in the northeast with its victory in Assam in 2016. Over the next two years, it won the elections in Manipur and Tripura, entered the Arunachal Pradesh government through the back door and became partner in the ruling coalitions of Meghalaya and Nagaland.
The think-tank of the party believes that a victory in Mizoram would consolidate the position in North-east but it may not be in a position to clean sweep the elections. The BJP leadership was also assessing its performance earlier this year in Meghalaya and Nagaland.
