Elections 2023: The dates for the assembly elections in Tripura and Meghalaya are near. Polling is to be held in Tripura on 16 February and in Meghalaya on 27 February. There are 60-60 assembly seats in both the states. There is a BJP government in Tripura and a BJP coalition government in Meghalaya. BJP’s Hindu core is vote bank. In such a situation, a survey has come out regarding the impact of Hindu factor in these states of North East.
This survey is of Pew Research Center in which survey has been done on many other issues including following regional language, food and religion. According to this survey, 73 percent of Hindus in the North East have voted for the BJP. However, there are local political challenges for the BJP in both the states. For example, Congress and CPM have formed an alliance in Tripura. BJP may also have to suffer due to the rebellious attitude of the leaders, but Hindu voters can spoil anyone’s game.
What does the survey say?
In this survey conducted keeping in mind the Hindu voters across the country, many types of questions were asked, in which the adults of India took part. To be a true Indian it is necessary to be a Hindu, if he eats beef then he cannot be a Hindu and what percentage of people have religion in their lives. An attempt was made to probe the mind of Hindus with some such questions.
There were 39 percent people in the North East who believe that to be a true Indian, it is necessary to be a Hindu. Apart from this, 74 percent people believe that if a person eats beef then he cannot be a true Hindu. At the same time, 85 percent people believe that religion is important in their lives. In this survey, 73 percent Hindus of North East have said that they have voted for BJP.
Who benefits in Tripura and Meghalaya?
On the one hand, there are local political issues in both the states, but if Hindus are talked about, then these voters can change the fortunes of any party. In Tripura in the year 2018, registering a historic victory, the BJP had ousted the Left-Congress alliance. So on the other hand, this year also in Meghalaya BJP formed the government in alliance with NPP. Now in this election it has to be seen which party Hindu voters support along with local issues.
Note- This survey was done by Pew Research Center in India between 17 November 2019- 23 March 2020.
