Manipur Election 2017: Friends Are A Liability For BJP

Guwahati: Will the BJP be able to pull an Assam in Manipur? Last year, the party snatched Assam from the Congress, which had ruled the state for 15 years.

In Manipur, the Congress has been in power for the exact same period. But the similarity ends there. While in Assam, the BJP united all possible allies to boost its prospects, in Manipur, everyone is singing "Ekla Chalo Re (Go it alone)".

The BJP's ally NPP, or the National People's Party of former Speaker Purno Sangma, is contesting 21 of the state's 60 seats. In many, it will hurt the BJP. "We are a part of the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) but in every state, regional parties have their own aspirations and ideas," said Vivek Raj Wangkhem, the chief of the party.

While the Naga Peoples' Front (NPF) is also the BJP's friend at the Centre and in Nagaland, it is not in Manipur. The front is contesting 15 seats and in more than seven, it is a straight contest with the BJP.

"In Manipur, BJP and NPF have a lot of difference in ideology," said Hinreikhui Kashung, General Secretary of NPF.

To appease the Naga party, the BJP cannot afford to offend the majority Meitei community in Manipur.

"The NPF in its constitution has a paragraph where it states that it promotes the idea that contiguous Naga-inhabited areas in the northeast should be integrated into one administration. This is totally not acceptable to Manipuri people, so partnering with the NPF is not possible here," N Biren Singh, senior BJP spokesperson in Manipur told NDTV.

The Congress suspects that the BJP and its allies NPP and NPF have an understanding in the 20 seats in Manipur's hills, where it is weak.

"NPF is a constituent of NDA, they already have an understanding with the BJP and both the parties are hand-in-gloves," said G Gaikhamgam, Deputy Chief Minister, Manipur.

BJP has a friendly rival in seats in the plains too. Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party is fighting in 11 seats where the BJP's prospects looked good.