The controversial citizenship bill will be the defining issue in the electoral battle for the 13 seats in the northeast that go to the polls in the first phase, besides assembly polls in
Arunachal Pradesh
.
The provocative issue, which has found resonance across all seven states, has led to protests — often violent — that have largely disintegrated BJP’s northeast alliance and given Congress hopes of reclaiming lost ground in its
bastion
.
Assam, the largest of the seven sisters with five of the 13 seats, has seen the strongest protests against the bill. So a wary BJP, which won 4 of the five seats in 2014, has avoided the issue in its campaigns. Barring NDPP in
Nagaland
and AGP and BPF in Assam, all its other allies are fighting on their own and against BJP on an anti-citizenship bill plank. Even the miffed AGP has returned to the fold on the promise that BJP would not take any decision without consulting it.
BJP has had a smooth run since 2016, when it formed its first NE government in Assam. With support from allies, it has taken charge of
Manipur,
Tripura
and Nagaland, Meghalaya and
Mizoram. Arunachal Pradesh, which will vote simultaneously assembly polls on April 11, is the only state BJP holds on its own.