Key take-aways from northeast elections: Don’t come together for the sake of it

The elections in northeast sets the pace for the polls to be held in Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. There are many takeaways from the just concluded polls

The BJP proved that it is a politically dominant force northeast under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The BJP managed to repeat its 2018 run in the elections to the legislative assemblies of Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland. While the BJP's rise in northeast is clear, the biggest takeaway is the slide of the Congress party further in this region, which it once dominated.

In Tripura, the decision to remove Biplab Deb paid off. It helped the party overcome incumbency. Further the government's welfare schemes in Tripura was also a major highlight and the same helped the party reap rich dividends. These schemes brought in the voters who were at one time not BJP supporters.

Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister, Amit Shah gave it their all in these three states. The rallies, the messaging and the kind of ground work that the party did helped it achieve what it did in these three states. The Congress on the other hand remained disengaged and put up a lacklustre performance. Rahul Gandhi who remained absent in Gujarat made a solitary appearance in Meghalaya.In all the messaging by Congress felt as though they had lost even before the race began.

These elections will also give a boost to the BJP which faces crucial elections in other states this year. Elections are due in Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The performance in Tripura by the CPM-Congress combine also show that unnatural alliances never work. It just showed that the two parties came together for the sake of it, in a bid to defeat the BJP. This folly was seen when the CPM and Congress tied up in Bengal against the Trinamool Congress and BJP. Similar was the case in the previous Uttar Pradesh elections when the SP-BSP and Congress came together. The tie up between the Congress and JD(S) in the last elections did not exactly pay any dividends. In this context it is important to note what Mamata Banerjee said following the results on Thursday. She made it clear that she would fight the battle across the country alone and her only alliance would be the people. It appears that she has got the message loud and clear that coming together for the sake of it does not necessarily pay off.

The elections in the three states also is a major message ahead of next year's Lok Sabha elections. There are 25 seats up for grabs in all the states in northeast. Currently the NDA holds 18 of them.