On Thursday, the BJP made history by retaking power in Tripura, and the NDPP-BJP alliance swept the polls in Nagaland. The BJP has decided to support the National People’s Party, which emerged as the single-largest party with 26 seats, in the race to form government in Meghalaya.
The BJP and the NPP were partners in the previous government but ran separately in the elections. The BJP’s performance in the three northeastern states’ assembly elections demonstrated the party’s continued dominance in the region, which was once a Congress stronghold. According to the results announced on Thursday, there will be no change in government in the three northeastern states. Last month, the three states held assembly elections.
The opposition parties fared better in the results of assembly by-elections. The BJP, which made a big splash in the 2018 elections by deposing the Left parties from power in Tripura, has returned to power with an absolute majority. Its ally, the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), won one of the six seats it ran for.
Tipra Motha, which campaigned on the promise of a “greater Tipraland,” made a name for itself by winning 13 seats. With a vote share of around 39%, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 32 seats. The Left parties and Congress formed an alliance to keep the BJP out of power in the border state, but it did not produce the same results as in West Bengal.
In Kerala, the CPI-M and Congress are arch rivals. In Tripura, they received approximately 33% of the vote and won 14 seats (CPI-M 11, Congress 3). The Left ran for 47 seats, while Congress ran for 13. Since 1978, the Tripura Left Front has ruled the state.
The BJP’s tally is slightly lower than in the 2018 election, when it won 36 seats in Tripura and IPFT did well.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that vote in Tripura was that for “progress and stability”.
“Thank you, Tripura! This is a vote for progress and stability. @BJP4Tripura will continue to boost the state’s growth trajectory. I am proud of all Tripura BJP Karyakartas for their spectacular efforts at the grassroots,” PM Modi said in a tweet.
He later spoke to BJP workers at the party’s headquarters in New Delhi about the results in the three northeastern states. Manik Saha, the Chief Minister, defeated Congress’ Asish Kumar Saha in the Town Bordowali seat by a margin of 1,257 votes. In Nagaland, the BJP won 12 seats, while the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) won 25.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won seven seats, the National People’s Party (NPP) five, and the Naga Peoples Front, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), and the Republican Party of India (Athawale) each won two. The Janata Dal (United) of Nitish Kumar received one seat.
The BJP had previously won an uncontested seat in Nagaland’s 60-member assembly. Neiphiu Rio, Nagaland Chief Minister, and NDPP candidate was elected from the Northern Angami seat.
The National People’s Party (NPP) of Meghalaya, led by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, surprised its rivals by winning 26 seats. The party is poised to form the state’s second consecutive government. The state held elections for 59 seats.
The United Democratic Party (UDP) won 11 seats. Five seats in Congress were won. Trinamool Congress received five seats as well, despite having inducted all Congress MLAs in the previous assembly. The BJP, the People’s Democratic Front, and the Hill State People’s Democratic Party all won two seats. The Voice of the People Party received four seats. Independent candidates won two seats.
The Congress Party won one assembly seat in each of West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu.
In Tamil Nadu, Congress is part of the DMK-led alliance, which is a setback for AIADMK, which is dealing with internal squabbles. Ravindra Dhangekar, a Congress candidate, won the Kasba Assembly seat in Pune, which is considered a BJP stronghold. The BJP won the seat of Chinchwad. These were the first elections held since the Election Commission recognized the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as the genuine Shiv Sena, bestowing the party’s name and symbol on it.
Uddhav Thackeray’s faction backed Congress and NCP candidates for the two seats. In Jharkhand, the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), a BJP ally, won the assembly by-poll for the Ramgarh seat. Amit Shah, the Home Minister, praised the party’s performance in Tripura and Nagaland, calling it a “historic day” for the northeast.
“A historic day for the Northeast. I thank Tripura for placing trust in BJP once again. It is a victory of pro-development politics that the BJP has delivered in Tripura under PM @narendramodi Ji’s leadership. Together we will move ahead and build a prosperous Tripura,” he said.
He thanked the people of Nagaland and Meghalaya for their support and praised party workers.
The BJP will hope to maintain its election momentum in the six other assembly elections scheduled for later this year.
