Shillong, Apr 20: Despite being consistently rejected by the vast majority of the Meghalaya population, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is hopeful of playing a bigger role in the state’s political sphere by 2028, when the next general elections are due.
BJP national secretary and the state in-charge, Anil Anthony, spoke to reporters today while on a visit to Meghalaya where he expressed confidence that the party’s influence in the state will grow substantially over the next few years.
The Hindutva-centred party found it tough to crack the North East until the last decade or so, when its rise has been meteoric in several states, such as Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Tripura, where it is the largest party.
Meghalaya, however, has strongly resisted the saffron wave. In 2018, four years after the BJP swept to power nationally, the party won only two seats in the state Assembly. Five years later, only these same two figures – South Shillong’s Sanbor Shullai and Pynthorumkhrah’s Alexander Laloo Hek – won again. The BJP failed in the Lok Sabha elections too in 2014 and 2019 and did not bother to run in 2024, instead opting to support the candidates of its ally, the National People’s Party (NPP), who also lost, as it happens. Its performance in the district council elections has also been nothing to write home about.
On the party’s long-term goal in the state, Antony indicated that the BJP is working towards becoming the leading political force in Meghalaya, similar to its ambitions elsewhere in the country.
Addressing the delayed elections to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC), Antony maintained that the BJP had already completed much of its preparations before the polls were postponed. He said the party had announced candidates in the majority of the 29 seats and that its campaign machinery was already active on the ground.
Recalling the party’s performance in the previous council elections, where it secured two seats, Antony expressed optimism about improving its tally in the polls once they are held.
