Tripura, BJP surge in North East India and the Narendra Modi factor

The exit polls have given the BJP and Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) alliance a thumping majority in the recently held Tripura Assembly polls with results due on 2 March, 2023. BJP’s stellar rise in Tripura is what folktales are made of. In 2013 assembly polls, BJP had a measly 1.54 per cent vote share and won zero seats but just five years later, BJP on a standalone basis won 36 seats out of the 60 seats up for grabs with a vote share of 43.59 per cent in Tripura in 2018. The Left which had ruled Tripura for 25 long years was decimated in 2018 winning just 16 seats. Worse still, in the 2023 Assembly polls, exit polls once again predict a rout for the Left and it may not even touch the double-digit mark in terms of the number of seats. As for the Trinamool Congress, it has proved once again, it has zero presence outside Bengal. All the false bravado about dislodging BJP in Tripura is merely a pipe dream for Mamata Banerjee because exit polls do not give the TMC even one seat. Basically, TMC has no presence in the North East. As for the Congress, it won zero seats in 2018 and will have to be content with zero seats, this time too, claiming yet another moral victory. In Nagaland too, in 2018, it was the BJP-NDPP alliance led by Neiphiu Rio that won and this time again in 2023, it is going to be an encore. Tripura happens to be the third internet gateway of the country, jointly built by BSNL and the Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited. The BJP government under Manik Saha is committed to achieving “Ek Tripura, Srestha Tripura” (one Tripura, great Tripura), ushering in ethnic and communal solidarity and ensuring prosperity. Among the BJP government’s major achievements are the following: social security pensions were increased from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 for 3.81 lakh beneficiaries; minimum wages for construction labourers were hiked; and subsidised loans were provided to entrepreneurs. Tripura is a manifestation of the Modi magic at work in more ways than one. In the education sector, Vidyajyoti schools were launched in January 2022 to boost the quality of education; quality augmentation schemes like Nutan Disha, the inauguration of National Law University, National Forensic Science University, three new government degree colleges and two degree colleges were inaugurated too. The average income of farmers increased by 68% from Rs 6,580 in 2015 to Rs 11,096 in 2021, thanks to schemes like PM Kisan and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and the declaration of the queen pineapple as the state fruit. Under the Ayushman Bharat health scheme, over 13 lakh cards were distributed and claims worth Rs 106 crore were settled for 1.84 lakh beneficiaries. Tripura got its first government dental college under the BJP. On the women’s and children’s welfare front, the BJP government had reserved 33% of government jobs for women, made education free for female students at government colleges and provided medical facilities to 1.9 lakh pregnant women. The BJP government in Tripura introduced the Ban Adhikar app to help forest dwellers and provided land pattas to 1.2 lakh of them. A new Eklavya Model Residential School was opened and 13 more are being constructed for tribal students of the state. As per the BJP’s 2018 poll promise, the government set up Tripura Tribal Folk Music College, apart from encouraging education in different tribal dialects. Among the achievements in the tribal welfare segment is the introduction of the Chakma, Garo, Manipuri and Bishnupriya Manipuri languages, in the higher classes. The foundation stone for an international Buddhist university was laid in south Tripura. The Darlong community was included in the list of scheduled tribes after the Lok Sabha passed the Constitution Order Bill 2022. Ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took charge, he has paid special attention to the development of the North East, with the prime minister visiting the North East more than 50 times in the last eight years. A plan has been prepared to revive the development of the North East on the basis of HIRA i.e. ‘Highway, Internet & Waterways, Railway and Airways’. Prime Minister Modi has changed the ‘Look East’ policy to ‘Act East’ policy. JNU for instance, has the highest number of students from the North East region. In view of this, the foundation stone of Barak Hostel was laid on 24 July 2017 in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus, New Delhi. The foundation stone of a hostel exclusively for girl students from the North East region was also laid at Bangalore University. The Modi government has spent a massive Rs 3.45 lakh crore for the North East region in the last eight years, which equals the cumulative spending in the 25 years prior to that. In comparison to the 13th Finance Commission, the 14th Finance Commission has given 183 per cent more funds to the North East. In addition, the quantum of funds to be earmarked by the various Central ministries / departments in the North Eastern Region (NER), as per the 10 per cent GBS stipulations have also been significantly enhanced. Together with the anticipated expenditures of Rs 72,540.28 crore in 2022-23 and Rs 94,679.53 crore in 2023-24, the aggregate expenditure in NER under the 10 per cent GBS stipulation is likely to reach a whopping Rs 5 lakh crore in the decade from 2014-15 to 2023-24. The North East masterplan in the Budget also embeds within its ambit, a new scheme with the nomenclature, Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for the North-East (PM-DevINE), which is mapped to be implemented through the North Eastern Council. The new scheme, PM-DevINE, is a Central scheme with 100 per cent Central funding and will be implemented by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DONER). The PM-DevINE Scheme will have an outlay of Rs 6,600 crore for the four-year period from 2022-23 to 2025-26 (remaining years of the 15th Finance Commission period). Efforts will be made to complete the PM-DevINE projects by 2025-26 so that there are no committed liabilities beyond this year. This implies front-loading of the sanctions under the scheme in 2022-23 and 2023-24 primarily. PM-DevINE will lead to creation of infrastructure, support industries, social development projects and create livelihood activities for youth and women, thus leading to employment generation. The emphasis of the Modi government is on increasing flight connectivity in the North East. Keeping this in mind, the government operationalized six air routes to the North East in October 2021. Many cities in the North East have been connected under the UDAN scheme. Under this scheme, 60 airports and 387 routes have already been made operational in the country, out of which 100 routes are in the North East alone, of which 50 are already operational. In a short span of seven years, 15 airports in the North East became operational. 16 airports have been identified to enhance agricultural exports. The Narendra Modi government has invested thousands of crores in the infrastructure of North East. The work of connecting all the state capitals of the North East with the rail network is going on at a brisk pace. The mission of connecting the state capitals of the North East with four lanes, district headquarters with two lanes and villages with all-weather roads is progressing rapidly. 19 waterways in the North East are being developed as national waterways. Large-scale investments in oil and gas projects are fueling the development of the North East. Narendra Modi’s government has approved Rs one lakh crore to take this sector forward. These projects are expected to be completed by the year 2025. The North East region has a lot of potentials to become India’s organic food basket. This will increase the income of the farmers. With the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sikkim has become the first organic farming state in the country. Other states need to learn from this. The goal of the Modi government is to bring ‘Evergreen Revolution’ to the country. Farmers’ income can increase with schemes like SAMPADA (scheme for agro marine processing and development of agro-processing cluster). By emphasizing the processing of agricultural products, farmers can get a higher price for their crops. The Modi government is also engaged in increasing the income of farmers through the PPP model and FDI. The Modi government directed all the states of the North East to form a task force so that tourism and culture can be made the engine of development. Under the “Swadesh Darshan” scheme, sixteen schemes worth Rs 1300 crore have been approved which include projects related to heritage, eco-circuit, spiritual and religious places and tribals; while under “Prasad” scheme, projects worth about Rs 200 crore have been given the green signal. This also includes the development work of the famous Kamakhya temple complex in Guwahati, Assam at a cost of Rs 29.99 crore. In the Olympic Games, the players of this region have brought laurels to the country. The Modi government is trying to promote sports talent in the North East on a war footing. Under this mission, the Central government is setting up a sports university in Manipur at a cost of Rs 800 crore. A football stadium has been built in Meghalaya at a cost of Rs 38 crore in collaboration with the Ministry of North Eastern Development. Under the North East Industrial Development Scheme, the MSME sector has been given incentives in the North East with an amount of over Rs 3,000 crore. For the North East region, the Union government has identified three objectives: The first objective is to preserve and protect its dialects, languages, dance, music, food and culture and to create attraction for it all across India. The second is to end all disputes in the North East and make it a peaceful region. And the third, important objective is to make the North East a developed region and try to bring it back at par with the level of contribution made in pre-Independence GDP. There was a time when agitations and disputes were the norm in the North East. In the last few years, the Modi government and the BJP have successfully set the narrative that development requires cooperation and hard work, not agitation or controversy. Due to the continuous efforts of the Central government under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, many steps have been taken in the northeastern states, which have led to a significant improvement in the security situation and accelerated development. In comparison to 2014, there has been a reduction of 74 per cent in militancy-related incidents in 2021. Similarly, deaths of security personnel and civilians have also come down by 60 per cent and 84 per cent respectively during this period. In a significant step, the Modi government decided to reduce disturbed areas under Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the states of Nagaland, Assam and Manipur after decades, in March 2022. More importantly, under the guidance of Prime Minister Modi, the Union Home Minister has set a target of resolving all the disputes of the North East in a given timeframe. The NLFT agreement for instance, was signed on 10 August, 2019. Immediately thereafter 88 cadres surrendered. As per the MoU, for the overall development of the tribals of Tripura, the government of Tripura would be given a Special Economic Development Package (SEDP) of Rs 100 crore by the Government of India (GoI) during a period of five years. For the permanent settlement of 6,959 Bru families (37,136 persons) in Tripura with a financial package of about Rs 661 crore, the GoI, Government of Tripura and Government of Mizoram with representatives of Bru migrants on 16 January 2020 signed the historic Bru agreement. As per the agreement, each resettled Bru family would be provided a fixed deposit of Rs 4 lakh as financial assistance, free ration, Rs 5,000 per month for two years, housing assistance at the rate of Rs 1.5 lakh and a land plot of 30 x 40 sqft. For the rehabilitation of Bru migrants, Rs 128.38 crore has been given during the financial year 2019-20 and Rs 140 crore during the financial year 2020-21 to the Tripura government. So far, plots have been allotted to 2110 families at four locations, out of which 1,426 Bru families have been provided housing-related assistance. An MoU was signed on 27 January 2020, by the GoI and the Government of Assam and representatives of Bodo groups to resolve the long pending Bodo issue, as per the historic Bodo Accord. After the agreement, 1,615 cadres of NDFB groups surrendered their weapons. As per the MoU, a Special Development Package (SDP) of Rs 1,500 crore for the overall development of Bodo areas in Assam would be provided. Furthering the same spirit a landmark agreement was also reached to establish peace in the Karbi Anglong region. Strengthening border infrastructure in the North East is a key highlight of Prime Minister Modi’s North East policy. Construction of 18 foot tracks and other construction costing Rs 1,162 crore for critical infrastructure development in the border areas in Arunachal Pradesh deserve a special mention. About 23.85 km long, fencing work has been completed on the Indo-Bangladesh border in Tripura. Efforts to promote bamboo cultivation under the National Bamboo Mission to provide support to local farmers and artists are praiseworthy. In 2018, the country’s longest road and rail bridge, the Bogibeel Bridge was inaugurated over the Brahmaputra river to connect Dibrugarh in Assam with Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh. To strengthen the road transport system, the construction of roads under North East Road Sector Development Scheme and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana are proceeding at a rapid speed. The railway line between Agartala (Tripura) and Akhaura in Bangladesh is complete. The North  East today does not suffer from the tyranny of distance, thanks to the dynamic outreach by Prime Minister Modi. Setting up of over two lakh houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Rural), 87,217 houses under the PMAY (Urban), and drinking water pipelines for more than 3.93 lakh households under the Modi government’s Jal Jeevan Mission, in Tripura, are noteworthy. Also 247 km of six new national highways and four in-principle national highways were upgraded to the double-lane standard with paved shoulders, recently. Over 34,528 people in Tripura benefitted from the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) scheme. The trade volume between Tripura and Bangladesh rose by 158 per cent last year and a special economic zone was set up at Sabroom to attract private investments in export-oriented units. On the governance and law and order front, a special court was set up in Agartala under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and new fast-track special courts were set up in Agartala and Kailashahar for the speedy disposal of cases related to crimes against women and children. Meanwhile, rapes and dowry deaths have declined by 10 per cent in Tripura, molestations have come down by 35 per cent and incidents of eve-teasing have reduced by 60 per cent. Overall, crimes against women have come down by nearly 30 per cent. Under the Left government, for 25 years Tripura was in the throes of “Jungle Raaj”. Today, thanks to Prime Minister Modi’s far-sightedness, the North East has been mainstreamed like never before. Almost 32 per cent of Tripura’s population is tribal in composition while in the case of Nagaland, tribal population is 90 per cent of the total population. The fact that these states are voting en-masse for Prime Minister Modi’s inclusive model of governance, speaks volumes about how the Modi model has truly ensured last-mile delivery to the lowest common denominator. The author is an Economist, National Spokesperson of the BJP and the Bestselling Author of ‘The Modi Gambit’. Views expressed are personal Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.