ITANAGAR: The BJP has kept open the option of joining the People's Party of Arunachal (PPA) government in Arunachal Pradesh. The government was formed by 43 defectors from the Congress.
"For now, we have decided to give outside support to the PPA government. However, we will assess the situation. A decision to join the PPA government or not will be taken at the national executive in Kozhikode (to be held later this month)," Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam minister and convenor of the BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), told reporters in Itanagar Sunday. The NEDA is an alliance of regional parties in the Northeast in which the BJP is a constituent and lead player.
Sarma shrugged off speculation about the PPA MLAs' possible merger with the BJP. He dismissed allegations that the BJP engineered the en bloc defections. "It was an indigenous political development within the Congress and the BJP came into the picture only after they merged with the PPA," he said.
Asked if the PPA MLAs, who won their elections under the Congress banner, betrayed the voters, chief minister Khandu said their decision was the "call of time". "While it is true that we won the polls as Congress candidates, the MLAs were constantly getting feedback from people for a regional party government. The people have seen how Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading the country. They have seen his love for the Northeast. So, we thought we should be in line with the Prime Minister. That feeling made us to merge with PPA with whom the BJP is a partner," Khandu argued.
NEDA was formed in May on the day Sarbananda Sonowal took oath as Assam chief minister. Its aim is to rid the Northeast of the Congress. By virtue of the formation of NEDA, the BJP, which is in power in Assam, became a partner in the Sikkim and Arunachal governments. The BJP is already a partner of Nagaland's alliance government. The Congress rules Meghalaya, Manipur and Mizoram while Tripura is under the Left Front.