The BJP think tank, after the party’s emphatic victory in the North East, really did not need a brainstorming session to pick its chief ministerial nominees in Nagaland and Meghalaya.
That Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, whose party won 25 seats, will remain at the helm, was a foregone conclusion. In Meghalaya, too, since the BJP’s senior partner, the National People's Party, is in the driving seat, Conrad Sangma will remain in the saddle.
Some party members are pitching for Pratima Bhowmik to be the first woman CM
But Tripura is a different ballgame, where the BJP is treading over eggshells. Manik Saha is, of course, the front-runner but a section in the party is pitching for union minister Pratima Bhowmik. Saha’s detractors have been asking for a change, demanding that Bhowmick be given the opportunity to be the first woman Chief Minister of Tripura.
The BJP held a crucial meeting on Sunday at the residence of party's chief strategist Amit Shah; it was attended by the party chief JP Nadda, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and others. Another nagging question was the number of berths to be allotted to the BJP in Mehghalaya and Nagaland. Sources indicated that in Meghalaya, one of the two BJP MLAs will get a ministerial berth.The number in Nagaland is yet to be decided.
(To receive our E-paper on WhatsApp daily, please click here. To receive it on Telegram, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
