As votes were counted today in three northeastern states, BJP surged ahead in Tripura and the party’s alliance secured a commanding lead in Nagaland. The NPP of Conrad Sangma, a former BJP ally, is in the lead in Meghalaya.
The Left-Congress coalition, Tripura’s nearest rival, is well behind the incumbent BJP, which is now in power. In contrast to its score of 36 in 2018, the BJP is aiming for a significant improvement. Indigenous Progressive Front of Tripura, or IPFT, the party’s partner in the current administration, has supported it in the election. With 35 seats still up for grabs, the BJP has now won over half of the vote.
According to Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of Assam and the BJP’s regional strategist in the northeast, Tripura would have a BJP chief minister, Nagaland will have a coalition government, and Meghalaya’s government will be chosen based on the number of seats won by the party.
In Meghalaya, Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress is barely ahead of Conrad Sangma’s National People’s Party, or NPP.
In the 60-member assembly of Nagaland, the BJP and its ally NDPP (Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party) have pushed ahead and are in the lead on 47 seats.
The results of these elections, along with additional polls conducted later this year, will be important for parties in the run-up to the general election of the following year.
Following a five-year agreement, the BJP and Conrad Sangma’s NPP ran against each other in Meghalaya. The parties, though, are reportedly in communication. In a meeting that lasted till the wee hours of Tuesday morning in Guwahati, Mr. Sangma and Himanta Biswa Sarma spoke. Despite the fact that they discussed the prospect of a post-poll alliance, the leaders downplayed it as a “meeting between friends,” according to sources.
In a close election, Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress can be crucial. Four exit polls taken together suggest that the BJP would gain seven seats, up from two, bringing the alliance’s strength to 27 seats—four shy of a majority in the 60-member parliament.
In what is viewed as a last-ditch move to increase its support, the CPM, which controlled Tripura for 35 years, has allied with the Congress. Both parties have seen a significant decline in support over the past five years. Only 13 seats of the state’s 60 seats were up for election; the CPM ran for 47 of them.
The Tipra Motha, the new party launched by former king Pradyot Kishore Debbarma with a focus on Greater Tipraland, also aspires to win some seats and exercise its king-making power. The BJP first made an effort to get along with the Tipra Motha, but its efforts were rejected when the group said it would not permit any separation of Tripura.
Also, results for a number of by-elections, including those for the Tamil Nadu’s Erode (East) seat, West Bengal’s Sagardighi, Jharkhand’s Ramgarh, and Maharashtra’s Kasba Peth and Chinchwad, will be announced.
