The Trinamool Congress is likely to march into Nagaland after Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya in the neighbourhood.
Less than a month after 12 of the 17 Congress MLAs in Meghalaya switched over to the Trinamool in a dramatic political coup, a dozen disgruntled leaders of the BJP in Nagaland have initiated a similar move.
The BJP is the minor partner of the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) in the alliance Government in the State.
A BJP leader in State capital Kohima said the 12 party leaders have been camping in Kolkata for a meeting with the Trinamool leadership. The group is led by a former Deputy Speaker of the State Assembly.
These party leaders have reportedly been unhappy with the style of functioning of a few senior leaders, particularly Deputy Chief Minister Y. Patton.
‘Unholy friendship’
Trouble within the Nagaland BJP started when the NDPP joined hands with the Naga People’s Front (NPF), leaving the State Ópposition-less. Many in the BJP were against this “unholy friendship”.
A section of BJP leaders allegedly had close ties with the NPF and allegedly tried to forge a friendship for an alliance government minus the NDPP. But Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio reportedly offset the move by bringing the NPF on board the alliance. The BJP has 12 MLAs in the 60-member House.
The exodus of senior political leaders of the northeast to the Trinamool began with former Congress MP Sushmita Dev of Assam in September. A Tripura BJP legislator joined the Trinamool a month later followed by the 12 MLAs of Meghalaya who quit the Congress.
