From Politics To Landmark Events, A Quick Look At What Made News In NE in 2024

From top political developments to mega investments and historic accords, let’s have a look at what made news in the eventful year that was

2024 has been a year of several firsts for the Northeast. From top political developments to mega investments and historic accords, let’s have a look at what made news in the eventful year that was. Here’s a special report:

The historic outcome in Assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, the Lok Sabha poll outcome in the region, continued crisis in Manipur, massive online trading scams rocking Assam and Nagaland, signing of the Tiprasa Accord, and the NLFT, ATTF peace pact in Tripura… 2024 has been eventful for the Northeast, which faced its own set of challenges and made remarkable progress in several sectors. 

North-East Lok Sabha Poll Results
Hectic politicking marked the beginning of the year 2024, with Lok Sabha polls and Assembly elections in the 2 states of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. While the BJP and allies held on to their fortress in Assam, Arunachal and Tripura, the opposition sprang a surprise in states like Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya. The BJP swept Tripura and Arunachal and won 11 of the total 14 seats in Assam along with allies UPPL and AGP.

The Congress, meanwhile, won both seats in Manipur and the lone Lok Sabha seat in Nagaland. The party also sprung a surprise win in Meghalaya’s Tura seat. The BJP-led NDA bagged 16 of the total 25 Lok Sabha seats in the Northeast. As always, NEDA convenor and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma spearheaded the BJP campaign in the region.

Assembly Polls in 2 States

History was created in both Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim where incumbent governments stormed back to power with clean sweep performances. The PS Tamang-led SKM government won 31 of the total 32 seats virtually ending former longest-serving CM Pawan Chamling’s political career. In Arunachal, the BJP led by Pema Khandu scored a hat-trick of wins bagging 46 of the total 60 seats. With support from allies, the BJP reduced the opposition strength to below 6 in the Assembly.

Bypolls End the Year

And the BJP and its ally NPP also had the last laugh as far as polls in 2024 were concerned. While the BJP won all 5 seats that went to by-polls in Assam, in Meghalaya, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma’s wife, Dr Mehtab Chandee Sangma emerged victorious on her electoral debut making the NPP the largest party in the Meghalaya Assembly since 4 decades.

Manipur Crisis

The year 2024 saw concerted efforts by the Centre to restore peace and normality in strife-torn Manipur. Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a high-level security meeting in Delhi attended by top officials including the Chief of Army Staff, the DG Assam Rifles, IB Chief among others to chalk out a strategy for restoring order in Manipur, which has been facing a crisis since May 3, 2023. In a first since the outbreak of the ethnic unrest, Meitei and Kuki MLAs also came face to face in New Delhi following a meeting organised by the MHA.

However, things took a turn for the worse when massive violence broke out in Jiribam in November. At least 11 militants were killed and the bodies of 6 women and children, who were allegedly abducted, were recovered from the area, marking the biggest escalation in violence since May 2023. Residences of ministers and MLAs were set on fire forcing them to adopt a multi-point resolution demanding the Centre’s intervention. While things have been more or less peaceful since then, an uneasy calm continues to prevail. The latest from New Delhi is the appointment of former Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla as the next Manipur Governor.

Naga Peace Talks

The stalemate over Naga Peace Talks continued in 2024 with a consultative meeting with CSOs and Naga Tribal groups convened by the Neiphiu Rio government demanding a new interlocutor. The biggest low in the peace talks came when the NSCN-IM threatened to resume armed resistance if the Government of India didn’t reciprocate their demands. However, the Centre pressed for continued dialogue as hopes of an early solution were renewed again.

ENPO’s Frontier Nagaland Demand

The year 2024 also saw significant developments in the ENPO demand for Frontier Nagaland Territory. The Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation, which has been demanding a separate state for the people of 6 eastern districts, agreed to accept for now the Centre’s proposal for a unique mechanism that will grant the region a certain level of autonomy. With tripartite talks already on between the Centre, Nagaland Government and the ENPO, the creation of FNT is expected to be finalised by mid-2025 if not earlier.

Historic Tiprasa Accord

The historic Tiprasa Accord was signed in March this year paving the base for granting of constitutional solution to the demands of the indigenous Tiprasas in Tripura. The movement to get the Accord implementation rolling was launched by Tipra Motha founder and Royal scion Pradyot Debbarma. With 2 rounds of talks already held over the implementation of the Accord, hopes are high that the process will be complete by 2025 end.

Peace Accords Continue

The Centre under Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued to bring rebels to the mainstream in 2024 through peace accords. Over 300 National Liberation Front of Tripura and All Tripura Tiger Force rebels gave up arms and joined the mainstream with the signing of a tripartite peace pact in September.

Biggest Investment in History of NE

March 13, 2024, was a special day for Assam and the nation as a whole. On this day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the base for three crucial projects with one of them being the Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and test facility at Morigaon in Assam. The initiative brought a record Rs 27,000 crore investment to Assam and promised jobs for hundreds of youths. The OSAT facility is being developed by Tata Electronics.

Assam CM’s Historic Bhutan Visit
In a bid to bring in more investments to Assam and consolidate the traditional bond between the two people, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma made a historic visit to Bhutan from December 16-19, the first by any chief minister from the state. CM Sarma was invited by Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck as the chief guest at Bhutan’s 117th National Day celebrations. In Bhutan, CM Sarma kicked off the roadshow for Advantage Assam 2.0 to be held in Guwahati in February 2025.
 
Mega Online Trading Scam

Mega online trading scams rocked Assam and even Nagaland in the year 2024. Multiple arrests were made as scams worth thousands of crores were unearthed with CBI taking over the probe. Scammers offered high returns on fixed investments duping thousands of gullible people. New techniques adopted by cyber criminals to loot people of their hard-earned money also came to light. Among them was the scam called digital arrest. Even PM Narendra Modi cautioned people against the menace in his monthly Mann Ki Baat programme.

The Upper Siang Dam Row

A proposed mega-dam along the Chinese frontier in Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Siang district became a bone of contention, with several local CSOs and anti-dam activists projecting it as a threat to their land. Chief Minister Pema Khandu, however, made it clear that the dam is a necessity to save the River Siang from perishing due to the construction of a whopping 60,000-megawatt dam by China on the other side of the LAC.  

2024- When Big Bands Toured Meghalaya

The year 2024 was definitely a treat for music lovers in the region with top bands and artistes touring India’s rock capital Shillong and Tura. From Boney M to Akon, Europe to Bryan Adams, Meghalaya turned out to be the one stop destination for music lovers who had an experience of a lifetime.

Hornbill Fest Silver Jubilee

The year also witnessed the historic Silver Jubilee edition of the festival of festivals, the Hornbill Festival in Nagaland.

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