BJP support base grows amid deadlock over CM's post
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: March 18, 2022 -

FEW days back no one would have expected the National People's Party (NPP) to make the first move of patching up with the BJP, especially after leaders of both parties bared fangs and accused each other on various issues in the run up to the state assembly elections.

The relation between the two allies soured to such an extent that BJP state and national leaders openly declared NPP wouldn't be part of the new government even before announcement of the election results.

Not to be outdone in the slugfest, some NPP leaders hinted at tying up with non-BJP parties, including the Congress, in case of a mixed mandate.

However, after the impressive win registered by the BJP and amid ample evidence of stiff competition for the chief minister's post, the NPP has jumped into the picture with its national president Conrad Sangma grudgingly extending support to the BJP-led government.

Interestingly, when the coalition government was formed after the mixed mandate in the 2017 elections, it was the BJP that initiated the post-poll pact with all the MLAs of non-Congress parties.

To keep the alliance partners in jovial mood as well as in upholding the principle of coalition government, BJP-headed government offered plump ministerial berths to all its major allies followed by appointment of the remaining MLAs as parliamentary secretaries.

Unarguably, the decision to entrust the charge of parliamentary secretaries was aimed at preventing revolt or open expression of disenchantment.

The ploy, however, failed to last the full term after the opposition Congress petitioned the court against appointment of parliamentary secretaries while the semblance of camaraderie among the alliance partners dissipated due to the mid-term cabinet reshuffling.

Such voices of disgruntlement were exactly the reason for the BJP leaders to seek a clear mandate in the run up to the just concluded assembly elections during which they projected the NPP as untrustworthy partner.

In-spite of the fierce rivalry witnessed during the campaign and amid the uncertainty at the juncture over who would be heading the new government, Conrad K Sangma on Wednesday seems convinced that his party's support would be held in high esteem and as such declared readiness to join the BJP-led government in Manipur if the dominant party invites the NPP.

With the second highest number of MLAs in the 6o-member assembly, Conrad has indeed added spice to the inter-BjP race for chief minister's post as whoever is eyeing the top job would be eager to broaden the support base from within the party and its allies.

Significantly, Conrad said that the NPP is a partner of the National Democratic Alliance at the Centre and supports the BJP in Arunachal Pradesh and is working together in Meghalaya, thereby not only signifying that the party is willing to forget the bitter past but also trying to ring out the message that its backing might help the cause of those gunning for the CM's post.

Prior to the election, BJP's leadership seemed to be in the control of chief minister N Biren, especially as he engineered continuous defections of prominent Congress faces to the BjP, initiated various people-friendly programmes and succeeded in removing the hill-valley emotional barrier to some extent.

However, with his or his challenger's position far from being secured, overt or covert endorsement of offer for support by NPP, NPF, JD-U and independent legislators might come handy in case BJP high command fails to make the right choice.