Leaders from three different parties of the Northeast, including Meghalaya Chief Minister and National People’s Party (NPP) president Conrad Sangma, on Tuesday announced that they would form a single political entity in the next 45 days to raise issues of the region.
Former BJP spokesperson Mmhonlumo Kikon will also be a part of the proposed entity.
Pradyot Manikya of TIPRA Motha, Daniel Langthasa from the People’s Party, Assam, and Kikon were among the signatories of a joint statement that announced the decision.
Both NPP and TIPRA Motha are allies of the BJP.
Mizoram’s ruling Zoram People’s Movement and Nagaland’s ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party, which are in alliance with the BJP, and Asom Gana Parishad, the BJP’s junior partner in Assam, are not part of the proposed political entity.
“We, leaders from different states of the Northeast, have come together today to make a collective and historic announcement, i.e., the coming together of various voices of our region to form a united singular political entity that truly represents the aspirations of our people,” the joint statement said.
It further said that the announcement marks the first step towards building this common platform, and a committee is being constituted to deliberate on the future course of action, including the modalities and structure of the proposed political entity. The nine-member committee has Kikon as its member secretary.
“In the next 45 days, the committee will talk to all members, a merger would be done and a new entity would emerge,” Sangma said at a joint press conference held by the leaders.
He said that the committee will also reach out to other parties and leaders of the Northeast. The joint statement said the “younger generation leaders of Northeast” feel it is time to give people a “collective voice”.
“For too long, we, the younger generation leaders of Northeast, have spoken about the same issues and concerns of our people, but from different platforms and political spaces. We have realised that our strength lies in unity, and that it is time to give our people one collective voice,” it said. “Taking inspiration from the vision and legacy of great leaders who fought selflessly for the identity and development of our land, we have resolved to carry forward their ideals by coming together under a shared vision for the future of the Northeast,” it said.
“Our united effort is guided by a simple conviction that the people of the Northeast deserve to be heard, respected, and represented through a strong, unified, and indigenous political voice at the national level,” it added.
Sangma said the effort is driven by the conviction that people of the Northeast need to be “heard and represented”. “It is very important that these different parties are combined in one political party. We have started working on that today,” the Meghalaya CM said.
Asked if they would be able to confront the BJP, Sangma said, “We are not here to fight anyone”.
“We are not trying to say we will contest against anyone. We are only saying that the platform we are trying to create is what the Northeast needs today. What is driving our decision is the interest of our people and the interest of our future,” he said.
“We are working with the central government. Obviously, as a political party, we will fight the election, we are not fighting against anybody,” he said, adding that the NPP, as well as TIPRA Motha, have contested elections on their own.
Asked about the issues that brought the parties together, he said land rights and protection of indigenous people, economic growth, and overall progress are some of the prominent issues.
Manikya said, “Daniel Langthasa is fighting for the Sixth Schedule, we are fighting for Sixth Schedule. Besides, there are common problems like illegal migration happening from neighbouring countries and alienation of tribal land.”
“In Delhi, people from the Northeast are facing discrimination. Many students and professionals feel there should be a common platform where they can speak,” the TIPRA Motha leader added.
