In the just concluded polls in three North East States of India, Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya, BJP has consolidated its position.
Yet, these wins expose the hypocrisy of BJP. A party that identifies itself as cow protector, right wing Hindu, opposing the tribal’s and Christians managed to win in these three north east states where people routinely eat beef and don’t belong to the Hindu faith.
So what gives?
One has to understand that the North-East has been affected by migration from across the border Bangladesh. So much so, that the locals voiced concerns and got a census started to identify those who were not natives of the state. This move later became the basis of NRC (National Register of Citizens) and CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act). The aim of the exercise was to identify illegal immigrants in India and then send them back. But real life is different than what is imagined by the politicians and the bureaucracy. The result is that even after carrying out the exercises, not many illegal immigrants were found in the area and in fact stories abound of people being found illegal where there are minor discrepancies in documents, leading to a lot of heart burn.
That the BJP was seen as the main promoter of this effort makes the people of North East feel that the party will protect them.
North-East has always been a neglected part of India. And it is now having the highest population growth rate, even higher than much maligned UP. Yet, it is one of the most educated parts of India. So, what seems to be working in favor of BJP here? Of course, there has been development and special focus placed on the region with electoral gains in mind but other than that it is the factor of illegal immigrants that seems to working in favor of BJP.