BJP appoints central observers for three Northeast states

NEW DELHI: The BJP Parliamentary Board today appointed Union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Jual Oram as central observers for Tripura, where the saffron party along with its ally won a two-third majority.

The ministers have been tasked with selecting the party's chief ministerial candidate in the state.

The board met in the evening and expressed its happiness over the party's performance in the three northeastern states of Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya.


It also appointed central observers for Nagaland where the BJP is set to form government along with its allies, and Meghalaya where the elections have thrown up a hung verdict, said senior party leader and Union Health Minister J P Nadda.

Nadda and party general secretary Arun Singh are the observers for Nagaland and Union Ministers Kiren Rijiju and Alphons Kannanthanam for Meghalaya.

"The BJP has secured a majority on its own. One of the few surviving Left enclaves has been demolished. The BJP led alliance has secured over 50 per cent of the popular vote. The politics of violence has been defeated by the power of democracy in Tripura.

"This is a mandate for peace, stability and development. The voters have voted for including North-east as a part of the national development agenda," Nadda said in a statement.

All these observers will visit the respective states and speak with the party MLAs to elect their leader.

Though the party had not announced any chief ministerial candidate during the run-up to the elections, Tripura BJP chief Biplab Kumar Deb is seen as a front runner. The BJP will form its maiden government in the northeastern state where it routed the Left, which was in power for the last 25 years.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah and several other members of the parliamentary board were present in the meeting.