The National People’s Party Conclave ‘Regional Aspirations, National Outlook’ held at Itanagar has to be commended for its ingenuity. This is probably the first time that a political party has held a conclave addressing many pertinent topics and issues affecting the Northeastern region of India.
Even before the D-Day, the Conclave managed to pique people’s interest and the turnout of the mostly young audience proved that it had struck the right chord. Regional Aspirations or rather youth aspirations are growing and in the recent years Regionalism as a political ideology has been gaining ground and consistently being looked up to as a viable answer to the issues plaguing the Northeastern region. There is a growing thinking that regional aspirations can be best understood and solved at a local level. 
The conclave set the bar with its focus on the need for regional political parties to push for the interests of the Northeast region. The Northeast Region is politically sui generis. The isolation of the region, its complex social character and its backwardness compared to the other parts of the country have all resulted in the complicated set of demands from different states of the Northeast. The BJP which is in power at the Centre has an ideology which doesn’t sit well with the communities of the northeast. There is a growing disillusionment with this realization.
Regional political parties have achieved success in states like Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim. Arunachal Pradesh has its lone regional party—the People’s Party of Arunachal, however it has remained more on the bleachers in the last decade or so. The PPA makes the news headlines only when “political strife” strikes and has been largely seen as a parking space for politicians to use as per their convenience. However, the need for regional parties is real in today’s scenario.
The NPP has done a commendable job by opening up the debate on the need for regional parties. Though the party did term the conclave a nonpolitical affair, the event has definitely garnered attention of the people especially youths including the state and national media. People today are tired of the brand of politics played by the BJP and are looking for an alternative. While it is too early to comment but NPP has definitely upped their game with this conclave.  

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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