PM visits Nagaland, Meghalaya: Modi wave sweeps Northeast India?

Just five days before the Assembly elections are scheduled in Nagaland and Meghalaya--PM Narendra Modi will visit both the northeastern states on Thursday.

Kohima/Shillong, Feb 22: Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Tripura twice and attended several election rallies in the Left-ruled state ahead of the Assembly elections on February 18. Just five days before the Assembly elections are scheduled in Nagaland and Meghalaya--Modi will visit both the northeastern states on Thursday. The Assembly elections in both the states will be held on February 27.

While Modi visited Meghalaya in December last year where he unofficially kick-started the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) campaign in the state, the PM is going to visit Nagaland after more than three years. In December 2014, Modi was in Nagaland to inaugurate the famous Hornbill Festival in the capital city, Kohima.

On Thursday, Modi will address election rallies in Nagaland as well in Meghalaya to give a push to BJP's victory prospect in the two poll-bound northeastern states. The BJP is making a strong pitch in both the states to expand its footprints in the northeastern states after formation of saffron party governments in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.

Modi will address an election rally at Tuensang district of Nagaland, about 360 km from capital Kohima, state BJP general secretary Gaangsilung told PTI. There are six assembly seats in Tuensang district in the eastern part of Nagaland. The BJP has fielded candidates for four seats, while its ally Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) nominees are in the fray in the rest two constituencies.

From Nagaland, the PM will go to Meghalaya to address a rally in West Garo Hills district, considered as the Congress bastion since statehood in 1972. The rally at Phulbari town will be the PM's second campaign meeting in the state to drum up support for the BJP candidates in the Assembly elections.

His first was when he began his campaign in Meghalaya in December last year where he had also inaugurated the Shillong-Nongstoin-Tura highway. The BJP, which is contesting the elections from 47 seats out of a total of 60 in Meghalaya, is making strong efforts to throw the Congress out of power in the state.

The entire town has been kept under tight vigil and district authorities are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that no law and order issue crop up the area, a senior official in the district administration told PTI.

He said central armed police forces have been also stationed there besides a host of election officials. The entire Garo Hills region has been tensed and kept under high alert after NCP candidate Jonathone N Sangma was killed in an armed militant attack recently.

Director General of Police SB Singh has reviewed the security drill necessary for the February 27 elections at Tura and has also taken a first-hand report of the attack.

Winning election in all the three states of Northeast India is very important for the BJP as it is eyeing to expand its political reach in the entire region which for long has been ruled by the Congress. The election results of all the three northeastern states will be declared on March 3.

OneIndia News