Narendra Modi’s visit last week to the Northeast region in public perception is meant to give a major thrust to the development projects in the region, but the main axiom behind this move has been to make nationalism the primary election agenda in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Modi’s resolve to begin the ambitious Arunachal Frontier Highway amidst the lingering shadow of Chinese threat on the borders in the Northeast and Ladakh is a pointer to his design. Major projects have been completed in Arunachal, but the work is yet to begin in the contentious area adjoining the border. As envisaged by the UPA government in 2012, the project is a 2,000-km-long road that follows the McMahon Line and will begin from Mago in Arunachal Pradesh, adjacent to Bhutan. In the prevailing situation, with tempers running high, it is unlikely that China will not raise objections to the project in the border areas adjoining its border.
The golden jubilee celebration of the North East Council for which the PM came to Northeast will undoubtedly provide a new platform for the NEC to deliver even better in the days to come and to spearhead more development initiatives as has been done effectively in the last five decades across the eight northeastern states. Tautology with slight differences is the trait of functioning of Narendra Modi and once again he resorted to it at the NEC celebration. To make his image ingrained in the minds of the people of the northeast he used numerical figure 8 frequently. The states under the northeast are better known as the seven sisters, but Modi referred to them as the 8 states of the region and christened them as Asht Lakshmi. He pledged that the government should work on 8 foundation pillars for its development, which are Peace, Power, Tourism, 5G connectivity, Culture, Natural farming, Sports, and Potential. What was interesting to watch was Amit Shah adding yet another 8, by emphasising that the region marched ahead on the path of peace and development during eight years of BJP rule under Narendra Modi.
Elections to the assemblies of states Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland will be held in 2023. But to look at the slew of development offers from the electoral perspective would be an act of naiveté. It needed a holistic approach and look. For quite some time both leaders have been focussing on the region. Modi said for a long time, the parties that were in power had thought of Dividing for Northeast, and his government came with the intention of DevINE (Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region). Historically, the region has been cut off geographically and culturally from the rest of India. RSS shakhas have been trying to bring them nearer on the plea of common Indian identity. The daily routine includes morning and evening prayers which include singing RSS-prescribed patriotic songs and devotional songs praising Hindu gods and goddesses. Senior leaders of the RSS point out that it is the first time efforts were made to carry out an expansion plan in the Northeast with a special emphasis on the youth. BJP and RSS will like to ensure their hegemony over the NE region through the mission of the Prime Minister before the 2024 polls.
