Assembly election results: BJP, allies strengthen hold in the Northeast

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies romped back to power in Tripura and Nagaland, while the Meghalaya results showing a split verdict, with its incumbent Chief Minister Conrad Sangma seeking support from the saffron outfit.

According to the numbers on the Election Commission’s website at the time of going to press, the BJP-IPFT won 33 seats in the 60-member Tripura assembly, while the BJP-NDPP won the same number of seats in Nagaland to see its Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio return to power for a record fifth term.

In Meghalaya, meanwhile, the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) emerged as the single-largest party, winning 26 of the 59 seats that went to polls on February 27, the Election Commission said. However, it fell short of gaining a majority in the 60-member assembly, even as Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad K Sangma had sought the support of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in forming the new government.

The BJP, which had brought star campaigners, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party chief J P Nadda and Shah, managed to win only two seats. The United Democratic Party (UDP), which was NPP’s ally in the Sangma government, emerged the second-largest party with wins in 11 seats. The Congress and the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamul Cong­ress (TMC) won five seats each.

In Tripura, the Tipra Motha, formed by former scion of Tripura’s princely family Pradyot Kishore Debbarma, bagged 13 seats, while the Left-Congress alliance secured 14, with Debbarma’s party eating into the Left’s tribal votes. The TMC failed to win a single seat from the 28 it contested in.

Though the coalition of the BJP and the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) returned to power for a second time, both parties secured fewer seats when compared to their performance in 2018, mainly as Tipra Motha did well in the tribal hinterland. The saffron party contested in 55 seats and won 32, three less than in 2018. The Communist Party of India (Marxist), which lost power in 2018 after ruling the state for 25 years, won 11 of the 47 seats it contested in, with a vote share of 24.62 per cent.

In Nagaland, Neiphiu Rio broke the record of veteran leader S C Jamir, who helmed the state thrice. The Natio­nalist Democratic Progr­essive Party won 21 seats while the BJP got 12 seats, the EC said.

Nagaland elects 1st women legislators since statehood

History was scripted in Nagaland on Thursday when the state elected its first women legislators  in its 60 years of statehood. The two women lawmakers — Hekhani Jakhalu and Salhoutuonuo Kruse of the ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) are greenhorns in politics but defeated the sitting MLAs in Western Angami and Dimapur-III seats respectively. (PTI)