A unified kind of regional political party is ideal but in the larger scheme of things, is it achievable and practical?
The move is interesting; some may even say exciting. The announcement of a proposed unified regional political party in the Northeast by three different parties namely the National People’s Party (NPP), led by Meghalaya’s Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, the TIPRA Motha’s Pradyot Manikya, Assam’s Daniel Langthasa of the People’s Party and Nagaland’s Mhonlumo Kikon, a former BJP MLA and Minister, poet and author, signify cautious sand shifting in the political firmament of the Northeast. Cautious because the proposed unified political party is reportedly averse to cutting the umbilical cord with the BJP, with which the aforesaid parties are in alliance ~ cautious also because there appears to be an aversion to rock the political boat. No doubt, numerous questions remain unanswered and hopefully after the formal announcement of the formation of the proposed party, several will be answered and several others will remain unanswered perhaps with time revealing them.
Because of several unanswered questions, it is difficult to assess whether this proposed political party will change the face of politics in the region or not. It is equally difficult to assess the kind of impact this proposed party will have considering that till the time of writing this, there is no report(s) of regional political parties in the Northeast rushing to join it although indubitably, there must be a whole lot of ground work going on to woo other regional parties to join the proposed party. If the aforesaid three parties that have announced a new entry into the political horizon of the Northeast are being cautious not to burn bridges, other regional political parties seem to be equally cautious not to burn their own set of political bridges, especially in terms of public support and consent vis-à-vis their political existence.
A unified kind of regional political party is ideal but in the larger scheme of things, is it achievable and practical? The Northeast today consists of eight States, including Sikkim. What is the Northeast today didn’t come about without the history and politics of the population of each State. Except for Assam, all the other Northeastern States were created after much struggle to be recognised for their individuality and uniqueness. This means that the population of each State here consists of diverse communities with their own aspirations, visions and needs but also with conflicting interests.
How then can a unified voice be achieved? Most States are home to numerous tribes and communities that are often at loggerhead on issues of history, land ownership, religion, culture, economic, educational and development disparities. Recently, Nagaland’s two regional parties merged ostensibly to address these issues and of course the resolution of the long-standing Naga political issue. While, for decades we saw our regional parties’ political manifestoes, we are yet to see a blue print to address all these issues that still persist decade after decade.
This is not to suggest that the new proposed regional party wouldn’t be able to deliver the goods but to underscore the challenges it will face not only at the regional level but also at the State level. If it has or is working on an achievable blue print to address them, there is a good chance that the people may urge other regional parties in the States to consider joining hands. However, much would depend on the maturity, political education, vision, etc., and the size of the ego of other regional parties’ leaders to take a stand. There is also a good chance that lesser known and under-performing regional parties may throw in their lot with the proposed party. But would numbers alone ensure efficiency and proficiency? We have seen regional and national parties with unassailable majority in and out of Assembly but their performance levels are left much to be desired. In any case, a lot would depend on how well the proposed party markets itself to other regional parties and to the people.
Take for instance the NPP, which has formed the Government in Meghalaya. It has done well in elections and its PR exercises say one thing but lived experiences of the people contradict them. With utmost respect to the authors and leaders of the proposed party, they are not exactly new and unknown faces. Have they worked out on how they will repackage and present themselves to voters? Although not entirely a novel concept as late PA Sangma did endeavour towards this end, the idea of a platform to raise one voice of the Northeast is extremely attractive but also fraught with perils of conflicting and contradictory agenda and interests bringing it down under their weight. How would the authors and leaders of the proposed party circumvent such challenges? Surely these and several other thoughts are crossing the minds of other regional parties and more importantly the people of the Northeast. As always, we have to wait for Father Times to reveal the answers.
Interestingly, there doesn’t seem to be any reaction from the BJP and the Congress. Perhaps because the leaders of the proposed party have been unequivocal about not being against any of them, these two parties see no reason to react. But there has to be some thinking going on because if some regional parties are sold on the idea of the proposed party, surely there will be some alliances that would be affected? Still, politics is the art of the impossible and we have seen how politics have often defied logic therefore it is quite possible that the proposed party may well pull off their gamble and actually change the face of politics in the region. Our people here are deeply entrenched in our thinking, unwaveringly attached to our past and unwillingness to let go of real and imagined hurts ~ in fact we nurture and guard them as our most precious treasure and weaponise them as and when we decide the situation warrants. If this proposed party can bring about some change in our people’s thinking and in our perspectives of real and imagined hurts, it would have pulled off a huge gamble. Considering how direly a change in Northeast’s political narrative is needed, if this proposed political party can give hope to the people of the region that a change is indeed possible, there could be a lot going for it.
(The Columnist is a Dimapur-based veteran journalist, poet and former Editor of Nagaland Page. Published in the November 9, 2025 issue of Northeast Now)