One North East (ONE):Political recalibration or genuine regional assertion?

A unified voice for the Northeast or strategic signalling ahead of Assam elections?

- PROSENJIT NATH

The launch of the new regional political platform One North East (ONE) by Meghalaya Chief Minister and National People’s Party leader Conrad K. Sangma, TIPRA Motha founder Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, former Nagaland minister and BJP leader Mmhonlumo Kikon, and People’s Party of Assam leader Daniel Langthasa has quickly stirred political currents across the region. With Assam headed toward elections next year, the timing of this alliance suggests more than cultural enthusiasm or sentimental unity. It reflects a deliberate recalibration of power, identity, and regional negotiation at a time when the Northeast’s representation in national politics appears increasingly shaped by the influence of Assam’s Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the BJP-led NEDA framework.

Congress leader Debabrata Saikia was quick to frame the development as a reaction against what he termed “majoritarian pressure” and “cultural imposition” fostered bythe BJP. This narrative, however, tends to flatten the unique political dynamics of the Northeast. Unlike many regions of India, where ideological debates often align along communal lines or economic priorities, identity politics in the Northeast emerges from historical memory, ethnic autonomy, land rights, border anxieties, and community sovereignty. The BJP’s expansion into the region was not built on forcing cultural conformity; rather, it rested on allowing regional allies to preserve identity markers while aligning structurally with national governance and development systems. In states such as Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, and even sections of Manipur and Meghalaya, the BJP made electoral headway by accepting cultural diversity rather than challenging it. This sharply differentiates the Northeast from other regions where cultural politics is more adversarial.