The stunning victory of the BJP in Assam and Manipur was a political miracle for a party which scored negative for long on several counts in the cauldron of nationalities, religions, tribes, migrants and refugees.
The BJP controls five of eight states in the northeast through direct rule, defections and alliances. Now, it is going all out to capture the remaining three—Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram in early 2018. It is taking the battle to the home turf of two long-serving chief ministers—Tripura’s Manik Sarkar (19 years) and Mizoram's Lal Thanhawla (17 years), while Meghalaya's Mukul Sangma is no spring chicken as he has spent seven years in the saddle.
This story is from the December 31, 2017 edition of THE WEEK.
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This story is from the December 31, 2017 edition of THE WEEK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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