Amit Shah will launch Northeast alliance in Assam tomorrow

In an obvious attempt to rope in like-minded political parties in their fold, BJP president Amit Shah is going to launch a platform — North East Democratic Alliance — officially here on Thursday.

The idea of forming NEDA came into existence on May 24, soon after the formation of BJP government in Assam. BJP has planned out a mega function at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati on Wednesday to make its presence felt in the region.

Chief ministers Sarbananda Sonowal, T.R. Zeliang, Kalikho Pul and Pawan Kumar Chamling of Assam, Nagaland, Arunchal Pradesh and Sikkim respectively are scheduled to attend the meeting described as official launch of NEDA.

The regional Asom Gana Parishad, which has 14 MLAs and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) with 12 MLAs, are already in the government with BJP in Assam. The leaderships of both the alliance partners have agreed to be the part of NEDA.

The ruling Naga People’s Front (NPF) with 59 MLAs in Nagaland, People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA) with 34 MLAs in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) with 28 MLAs in Sikkim, and Mizo National Front (MNF) with a strength of five MLAs in Mizoram have also agreed to join NEDA.

MNF is in opposition in Mizoram whereas NPF and PPA are ruling parties in Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh respectively.

The National People’s Party (NPP) with two MLAs and United Democratic Party (UDP) with eight MLAs in Meghalaya are also going to be the part of NEDA.

Pointing out that BJP has succeeded in roping in most of the regional political parties through informal discussions, sources said that BJP was targeting the forthcoming state elections in Manipur and Meghalaya.