While the BJP-IPFT combine has scripted history by winning the Tripura Assembly polls with two-third majority, Meghalaya witnessed a fractured mandate with the ruling Congress emerging as the largest party but only marginally ahead of rival National People’s Party, providing the smaller parties with an opportunity to play kingmaker.
In Nagaland, the Congress tally of 21 of the 59 seats – two more than the NPP’s – marks a setback for the party that had bagged 29 seats in 2013 and later won a by-election to dominate the 60-member Assembly with 30 seats.
Ending 25 years of uninterrupted rule of the CPI(M)-led Left Front in Tripura, the BJP and IPFT won 43 seats. The CPI(M) won 16 seats and the Congress none.
The elections in 59 seats in the 60-member Assembly were held on February 18. Polling was countermanded in one seat due to the death of a CPI(M) candidate.
The BJP with a tally of 35 seats won the majority on its own, while its alliance partner the Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) bagged eight seats, according to the Election Commission (EC) sources.
The saffron party inflicted a humiliating defeat on the Left Front, which had never faced such a situation, even when it had lost power in 1988 to the Congress-Tripura Upajati Juba Samity combine, media reports pointed out.
In Meghalaya, the NPP’s 19 seats are a huge jump from the 2 it had won in 2013 and have given it the chance to form a coalition government with other non-Congress parties. The BJP has opened its account with two seats.
The United Democratic Party has seen its tally drop to 6 from the 8 it had won in 2013, and the Hill State People’s Democratic Party’s score has slipped from 4 to 2.
Among Congress stalwarts who have lost are former chief minister Salseng C. Marak, defeated by former deputy chief minister and NPP candidate Timothy D. Shira at Resubelpara.
The Congress, which was in power in Meghalaya since May 2009, failed to win a majority but emerged the single largest party with 21 seats.
Despite emerging as the single largest party winning 27 of the 60 seats, the ruling Naga People’s Front (NPF) in Nagaland may not be able to muster majority.
The BJP-Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) combine looks set to form the next government. Their chances brightened after the JD(U) committed support. The support took their tally to 30. They are also likely to be backed by PA Sangma-founded National People’s Party (NPP) besides the lone Independent. The NDPP came a distant second with 17 seats, media reports pointed out.
The BJP won 12 seats. The rest of the seats were bagged by JD (U)-1, NPP-2 and Independent-1.
