Northeast polls: Are BJP's headquarters, 'number 18' its lucky charms?

The Tripura polls were held on Feb 18 and the headquarters took 18 months to build

Sigh of relief

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) moved its national headquarters from 11, Ashoka Road in Lutyens’ Delhi to 6A, Deendayal Upadhyay Marg on February 18, 2018. Party leaders were nervous that the new office might be deemed unlucky if the party were to lose in the three northeastern states that went to polls subsequently. 

Incidentally, the polling for the Tripura assembly also took place on February 18, while that for Nagaland and Meghalaya was held on February 27. The foundation stone for the new BJP office was laid on August 18, 2016, and construction was completed in 18 months. The party leadership heaved a sigh of relief after the poll results were announced on Saturday. The BJP win in Tripura, and its improved showing in Nagaland and Meghalaya, was proof that the new office was indeed propitious.

Tripura ripples likely in Hyderabad

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) had fielded its Rajya Sabha member from Tripura, Jharna Das Baidya, as one of itscandidates in the state assembly polls. There was speculation within the party that if the CPI (M) wins Tripura, and if Baidya also emerges victorious from her seat, she might be made a minister in the state government. In that case, she would quit her Rajya Sabha seat. However, not only was the CPI (M) ousted in Tripura, but Baidya too lost her seat to BJP's Dilip Sarkar.

The CPI (M) defeat in Tripura has made the Hyderabad conclave of the party in April more interesting. Outgoing Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sakar had supported former party chief Prakash Karat's line in his battle with current party chief Sitaram Yechury. Many in the party expect the Karat camp to ensure Yechury doesn't get a second term as party chief at the conclave, but the Tripura loss queers the pitch for the Karat camp.

Some remembered, some didn't

March 1 was Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's birthday. Most senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, tweeted their wishes. Kumar's counterparts in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Assam, among others, also wished him. The Janata Dal (United) leader shares his birthday with DMK working president MK Stalin and former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Congress president Rahul Gandhi wished Stalin and Bhattacharjee but not Kumar. So did West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, a friend of Kumar till he became an ardent supporter of demonetisation.