National Seminar On Electoral Politics in North-East India: Analysis of Last Assembly Elections

North-East India has come to the centre stage of national attention during the elections to the three state Assemblies that were held recently. The visit of national and regional leaders of most parties for election campaign added importance to the region and drew national as well as international media attention. The direct confrontation between left and right parties in Tripura, the resurgence of National People’s Party along with BJP’s aggressive strategies in Meghalaya and realignment of political forces in Nagaland made the recent elections more attractive. Actually, Assam’s political change and Manipur’s post-electoral development have provided food for thought among serious election observers regarding the ensuing trends in the region. Out of eight states, five states had gone to polls in recent past, one will face election towards the end of this year and two others will have simultaneous elections along with Lok Sabha in early 2019. So, almost all states in North-East either were or are in election mode.

At the same time, high voters’ turnout in elections of the region is a matter of great delight for the lovers of democracy. The features of insurgency, secessionism and backwardness for which the region was known previously, has proved doomsayers wrong and exhibited political maturity to the whole country. The faith in democracy and aspiration of youth mass for a happier life are some of the pointers to ponder among political pundits. It requires also a serious deliberation among scholars to delve on the impact of election outcome on the society. With these things in mind, a daylong national seminar is proposed on 21st April, 2018 in which scholars from within the region and outside have been invited to present papers and deliberate on different dimensions of the last Assembly elections in North-East India.