New Delhi: Counting day is finally here in the northeast states of Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya. After pitched campaigning involving national parties as well as regional powers, Tripura went to polls on the February 18, while voting in Meghalaya and Nagaland was held on February 27. Elections were held for 59 seats each in the three northeast states.
In Tripura, the big questions is whether the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) end the Left government’s 25-year run?
The counting will begin on Saturday for the 59 Tripura assembly constituencies. The election in Charilam constituency was postponed to March 12 after the death of Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI-M] candidate Ramendra Narayan Debbarma. The tenure of 60-seat Tripura Legislative Assembly ends on March 6, 2018.
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Apart from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah, many senior BJP leaders vigorously campaigned in Tripura.
While the CPIM-M fielded 57 candidates; the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), and the All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) fielded one candidate each. The Congress Party fought elections on 59 seats, while the All India Trinamool Congress on 24 seats.
While the political parties in Tripura are keeping their fingers crossed, exit polls have given mixed predictions. Some have said the BJP will dethrone the Left Front led by Manik Sarkar, which has governed Tripura since the 1998 election. However, the real picture will emerge after the counting ends on Saturday.
The Centre for Voting Opinion & Trends in Election Research (CVoter) predicted a close fight between the BJP and the Left. It said the Left would win 26-34 seats with 44.3% vote share. It predicted the BJP alliance to win in 24-32 seats with a vote share of 42.8% and said the Congress Party might win in two seats with 7.2% vote share.
Meanwhile, in Nagaland, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) alliance and the Naga People’s Front (NPF) are slugging it out to see who will emerge more dominant.
The counting of votes for 59 assembly seats will begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday. The NDPP Chief and former chief minister Neiphiu Rio has already been declared elected unopposed.
He was declared a winner from the Northern Angami-II assembly seat in Kohima district after his rival withdrew his nomination.
On February 3, Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju announced the BJP’s alliance with the NDPP and said the alliance will form next government in Nagaland with an absolute majority. Rijiju also clarified that despite forging an alliance with the NDPP, the BJP was not severing its ties with the NPF, which has been its ally for last 15 years.
The NDPP contested on 40 seats and the BJP on 20 seats.
While Nagaland Chief Minister and NPF leader TR Zeliang has expressed confidence of returning to power, the exit polls have presented a different picture altogether. The CVoter exit polls claimed a victory for the NDPP-BJP combine in Nagaland, which is likely to get 25-31 and the NPF likely to bag 19-25 seats. Voting for the Nagaland Assembly was conducted on February 27. The turnout was recorded to be 75%.
The key candidates in the polls are Neiphiu Rio (NDPP), Biplap Deb (BJP), TR Zeliang (NPF), Yanthungo Patton (BJP), K L Chishi (BJP) and Kewekhape Therie (INC).
Finally, over in Meghalaya, the Congress is hoping to hold on to one of the last states it currently retains. Voting had taken place in 59 of the 60 seats on February 27. The election in the Williamnagar constituency has been delayed following the death of NCP candidate Jonathone Sangma in an IED blast.
Chief minister Mukul Sangma is attempting to win his third term in a row. However, his endeavours have suffered setbacks on account of legislators moving to the BJP and the National People’s Party (NPP). The UPA is contesting all 59 seats, while the NPP is contesting 52 and the BJP, 47.
Buoyed by the formation of governments in Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, the BJP is making a bid to expand its footprints in the region.