Assembly Polls Results 2023: BJP wins Tripura; NDA Nagaland; NPP leads in Meghalaya

After hours of vote counting, the BJP and its allies have secured a comfortable win in Tripura and Nagaland with over 32 and 40 seats respectively, with the NDPP+BJP alliance maintaining its lead throughout in Nagaland. The TIPRA Motha party, which is pushing for an autonomous state for tribals, has emerged as a possible kingmaker in Tripura.

While the BJP+ is now above the majority mark in Tripura paving way for celebrations, the Left+ Congress is trailing behind with Tipra Motha leading in over 13 seats.

In Meghalaya, where a hung House was expected, the NPP is in the lead but is short of the majority mark, with the Congress, BJP, and TMC leading in a few seats each. The election results are still too close to call in Meghalaya, while other regional parties also reach close in proportion to the NPP. NPP may go with the BJP, it’s speculated.

In the initial stages of vote counting in Tripura, it seemed like a close competition between the BJP-led alliance and the Left-Congress, with the former leading but not far ahead. However, as the counting progressed, the BJP gained momentum and crossed the majority mark of 30, making it 32.

There was a brief moment in Tripura where the BJP’s numbers dropped, and the Left+ picked up, leading to speculation that the Tipra Motha Party led by ex-Royal Pradyot Manikya could emerge as the ‘kingmaker’. But the BJP proved the calculations wrong by gaining majority. TMP won 13 seats while CPI(M) won 11 seats.

Battle for Northeast 2023- Top Contenders 

The Tripura election features several prominent candidates, including Dr. Manik Saha, the current chief minister, who is running from Town Bordowali. Saha was a congressman who joined the BJP in 2016 and was appointed the party’s state president in 2021. Another prominent candidate is Sudip Roy Barman from Congress, a six-time MLA from Agartala who joined the BJP in 2018 but returned to Congress soon after. He has never been defeated in previous elections. The royal descendant of Tripura, Pradyot Manikya, who was with Congress for many years but has since formed the Tipra Motha party, is also a key figure to watch.

Manik Sarkar, the former chief minister of Tripura, is a strong face from CPI(M), but he is not contesting this time, instead, he is canvassing for support for his colleagues. Other notable candidates include Pratima Bhowmick, a BJP Union minister from Dhanpur constituency, Jishnu Dev Burman, Tripura’s deputy chief minister from Charilam constituency, Jitendra Choudhury, a prominent tribal leader, and Birajit Sinha, the state Congress president running from Kailasahar.

Battle Northeast 2023 with TNI: – BJP sweeps Tripura and Nagaland, Sangma’s NPP front-runner in Meghalaya.

 

The BJP and its ally have won a decisive victory, paving the way for Neiphiu Rio, the longest-serving Chief Minister of Nagaland, to assume office for a fifth consecutive term. While the National People’s party is set to win the Meghalaya polls, currently with around 25 seats, meantime NPP is yet to near majority as other’s also have proportional seats.

 

• Despite having an alliance for the past five years, the BJP and Conrad Sangma’s NPP contested the Meghalaya election separately. However, there are indications that the two parties may come together again. Conrad Sangma and Himanta Biswa Sarma met for a late-night discussion in Guwahati on Tuesday, which some sources suggest was about the possibility of a post-poll alliance. Although the leaders downplayed the meeting as a “friendly” one.
• The assembly election results in Meghalaya suggest that there is no clear majority for any political party. Conrad Sangma’s National People’s Party (NPP) is currently leading on 26 seats, which is five seats less than the required majority mark, indicating that the state may be heading towards a hung assembly.
• The official results released by the Election Commission indicate that the coalition comprising NDPP-BJP-RPI has secured a majority.
• The NDPP-BJP alliance is currently ahead in 40 out of 60 seats in the Nagaland assembly, indicating that they are likely to stay in power in the state.
• The Chief Minister of Tripura, Manik Saha, credited the success of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state assembly elections to the “double engine” government led by Prime Minister Modi. He expressed happiness as BJP candidates took a lead over their opponents from the Left-Congress and Tipra Motha, leading in more than half of the 60-member assembly.
• The Tripura election results show that Sudip Roy Barman, a prominent candidate from the Congress party, has won for the sixth time in the Agartala constituency. Barman, who had previously won five times as an MLA from the same constituency, had briefly joined the BJP in 2018 before returning to the Congress party. He has a strong record of never having been defeated in elections so far.
• The Tripura Chief minister, Manik Saha, congratulated BJP party workers as the party is expected to form the government in the state. Saha expressed his joy as the BJP candidates were leading in more than half of the 60-member assembly.
• The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has reportedly stated that they are willing to fulfill all demands made by Tipra Motha, except for the creation of Greater Tipraland.
• In a first for Nagaland, two women candidates have been elected to the state assembly. Salhoutuonuo Kruse and Hekani Jakhalu have emerged victorious from Western Angami AC and Dimapur-III constituencies respectively.
• At the BJP election office located in the Colonel Chowmuhani area in Agartala, there were celebrations as the party took the lead in the assembly polls. Party workers were heard shouting slogans such as ‘Narendra Modi Zindabad’ and ‘Jai Shri Ram’, while exchanging sweets and bursting firecrackers. They also celebrated with an early Holi.
• The National People’s Party (NPP) led by Conrad Sangma has emerged victorious in 6 constituencies and is leading in 19 others in the Meghalaya assembly elections. The party’s winning candidates are from Chokpot, Jowai, Nartiang, Raliang, Rangsakona, and Rongara Siju constituencies. The NPP is also leading in Bajengdoba, East Shillong, Jirang, Kharkutta, Mahendraganj, Mendipathar, North Tura, Phulbari, Pynursla, Raksamgre, Resubelpara, Rongjeng, Salmanpara, Selsella, South Tura, Sutnga Saipung, Tikrikilla, Umroi, and William Nagar.
• The BJP has won 11 seats and is leading in 1 in the Nagaland assembly elections. The party has emerged victorious in constituencies such as Akuluto, Alongtaki, Dimapur-I, Ghaspani-I, Koridang, Phomching, Southern Angami-II, Tizit, Tuensang Sadar-I, and Tuli. They are also leading in Tyui constituency.