Amid churn in Northeast, move for a pan-region party; BJP’s Meghalaya, Tripura allies plan merger

These Northeastern leaders told a press conference in the national capital that their political outfits would merge to form a single party with a common symbol.

“We the leaders from different states in the Northeast have come together today to make a collective and historic announcement. Which is the coming together of various voices of our region to form a united singular political entity that truly represents the aspirations of our people,” said Sangma.

“For too long, we the younger generation leaders in Northeast have spoken about the same issues and concerns of our people but from different platforms and political spaces. We have realised that our strength lies in unity and that it is time to give our people one collective voice. Taking inspiration and vision from the legacy of great leaders who fought selflessly for the identity and development of our land, we have resolved to carry forward their ideals by coming together under the shared vision for the future of the Northeast. Today’s announcement marks the first step towards building this common platform,” the CM said.

Sangma’s NPP is the biggest outfit among the parties which have decided to merge together. A member of the BJP-led NDA, the NPP, which leads the coalition government in Meghalaya, also has a significant presence in Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.

In Manipur, the NPP was a part of the BJP-led government before withdrawing its support to then CM N Biren Singh last year in the wake of the ethnic strife that roiled the state since May 2023.

Sangma said a nine-member committee has been constituted with his brother and NPP working president James Sangma as its convener to “deliberate on the future course of action including the modalities and structure of the proposed political entity”. He said the panel, which has been asked to submit its report within 45 days, has also been mandated with the task of reaching out to other political parties in the region.

The Tipra Motha, founded by Debbarma in 2021, is also an NDA ally and is part of the BJP-led government in Tripura. Debbarma said the proposed entity is not being formed “in opposition” to any political force but rather “in favour of our people”.

“We have similar problems and similar challenges. We should shed our personal ambitions and egos and come together for the sake of our people, our communities and speak as one singular political entity. That’s why we took this step,” he said.

“The most important thing in political sphere is not personal interest but the interest of our people. Our people need a political voice, not just in the Northeast but also outside the Northeast. Mainly in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata and we are going to attempt to do this,” Debbarma said.

Sangma said, “Whether Tipra Motha or NPP, we have been part of the central govt and working with them… But I’ve been very clear that our decisions and all our political points are centred on the interest of our people. We are not here to pick a fight with anyone. We are here because we felt strongly that coming together will make us stronger.”

Some of these parties’ common issues as identified by Debbarma include protection of areas under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, illegal immigration across the long international borders along the region, alienation of tribal land, and medical treatment of students and young professionals from the region studying and working in cities outside the Northeast.