NEW DELHI: With the declaration of results for the assembly elections on Thursday-2nd March, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) returned to power in Tripura and Nagaland by winning an absolute majority.
Meanwhile, in Meghalaya, Conrad Sangma, who leads the National People’s Party (NPP), is all set to return as chief minister. The BJP has extended its support to NPP in forming the new government in the state, soon after Sangma reached out to Union home minister Amit Shah. Sangma secured his victory in the South Tura constituency with a lead of 5,016 votes.
The elections for Tripura assembly were held on February 16, where 89.95 per cent of the 28.14 lakh voters exercised their franchise. The elections for Meghalaya and Nagaland assemblies were conducted on February 27.
Winners
Hekani Jakhalu and Salhoutuonuo Kruse
It took 59 years and 14 assembly elections for Nagaland to elect a woman MLA but when the moment came, there were two of them. Jakhalu, the 48-year-old lawyer-activist contesting on a Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party ticket, defeated Azheto Zhimomi of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) by 1,536 votes in the Dimapur-III seat while Kruse, also of the NDPP, narrowly beat Independent candidate Keneizhakho Nakhro by seven votes. Jakhalu, a Lady Shri Ram College alumna who has a Master of Law degree from the University of San Francisco, was among only four women to contest the state polls. She received the Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2018. Kruse, 56, is a local hotelier.
BJP
Another satisfying day for the BJP in a region where it had no traditional presence and where there are limits to its appeal. It will be mighty pleased with its Tripura performance, where there were niggling doubts of a dip considering the less than impressive governance and the looming threat of Tipra Motha. Though both the number of seats and the vote share are likely to see a marginal decline, the party will gladly take it. The incremental gains in Nagaland and Meghalaya, two Christian-majority states where BJP is not a natural fit, will be gratifying.
Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma
The scion of the erstwhile Tripura royal family, whose party Tipra Motha went to the polls demanding a separate Tiprasa state for tribals, will end up with a creditable 13 seats but may not get to play the kingmaker that he had hoped for. The results show that his party did well in the 20-odd tribal-dominated seats and has relegated the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura, which represented the voice of the tribals in the last polls and got eight seats and 7.38% of the vote, to the margins. The IPFT got a solitary seat with just 1.26% of the vote. The BJP holding its ground in Tripura may have dampened the mood for Debbarma but he now has a solid base to build upon.
Neiphiu Rio
The four-time Nagaland chief minister is in line for a fifth term. Though the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party-BJP alliance was never in doubt of retaining office, he will be pleased that the NDPP is poised to better its 2018 performance of 17 seats and 25.3% vote share to 25 seats and 32% vote.
Conrad Sangma
Running a coalition government in Meghalaya with the BJP, he showed spunk in deciding to go solo in the assembly polls. He would have hoped to get a majority on his own but the results have vindicated his decision to contest separately, with his party improving upon the 19 seats and 20% vote share of 2018 to 26 seats and 31% vote this time. He will also be pleased at withstanding the BJP’s corruption barrage on the NPP.
Losers
CPM
The party is truly out of the picture in Tripura now. When its long run in the state was halted by the BJP in 2018, it was still in a very strong position, logging 42.22% of the vote share, just 1% less than the saffron outfit. Its seat share had fallen drastically from 49 to 16, but there was hope that it could claw its way back. This poll has put paid to that hope, the party winning just 11 seats and its vote share, alarmingly, falling to 24.6%. With no signs of a pick-up in West Bengal, the CPM is reduced to the status of a one-state party, with its sole government in Kerala.
Congress
The slow death of Congress continues. After being decimated in Tripura and Nagaland in the last polls, and its MLAs decamping en masse in Meghalaya, the party has turned in another limp performance, though its supporters will point to the three seats it won in Tripura and the five in Meghalaya. The coming days will show how durable those minor gains are, considering the propensity of MLAs in this region to switch allegiances. The party now gives out the distinct feeling of an also-ran and the lack of vigour is palpable.
Trinamool Congress
The party’s dream of getting a toehold in the north-east has been rudely dashed. It had hoped to make inroads into Tripura’s predominant Bengali population, while hoping to make gains in Meghalaya where 12 Congress MLAs, led by former CM Mukul Sangma, had joined its ranks. In the end, Tripura was a disaster, with no seats and less than 1% of the vote. Its performance in Meghalaya, where it contested 56 seats, was better, with five seats and over 13% vote. However, it was a sharp comedown from the 12 seats in the outgoing assembly.
Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura
For long the voice of tribals in Tripura, the party saw its thunder stolen by the newbie Tipra Motha. For all its exertions, it ended up with a single seat, down from the eight it won the last time. In what could be far more damaging to its existence, its vote share has gone down from 7.38% in 2018 to a mere 1.26% this time. With Tipra Motha dominating the tribal space, it looks an uphill fight for the IPFT hereon.
Naga People’s Front
The once mighty champion of Naga rights has fallen by the wayside. Formed in 2002, it remained in office for 15 years (2003-18) before being upended after the last polls, where it emerged as the single largest party with 26 seats. However, its erstwhile partner BJP tied up with the newly-emerged NDPP of Neiphiu Rio to form the government. Its bad run continued with 21 of its MLAs later joining the NDPP. It contested on 22 seats this time and its 38.78% vote share of 2018 has come down to 5.7%. It won two seats.
(This story has not been edited by News Mania staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
