Daily Briefing: BJP retains power in Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura; Panel of PM, LoP and CJI will choose CEC, ECs

The Bharatiya Janata Party looks all set to retain the three northeastern states — Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland — that had gone to polls early this year.

👉🏽 In Tripura, the BJP managed to win a simple majority after a hard-fought battle with the Left-Congress combine and the TIPRA Motha, led by royal scion Pradyot Debbarma. Here are the key takeaways.

👉🏽 Meanwhile, the National People’s Party (NPP) emerged as the single-largest party in Meghalaya. It is likely to ally with the BJP or the United Democratic Party (UDP) — or maybe even both — to form a coalition government, in a repeat of proceedings five years ago. Here is what you need to know.

👉🏽 With results in for all 60 Assembly seats in Nagaland, the NDPP-BJP alliance with 37 legislators is in a comfortable position to form the government. We break down why the NDPP-BJP dominated the polls. 

🔎 *Only in the Express*

🌳 Express Investigation: The dense forests of Myanmar are home to teak reserves most prized for high-end furniture and luxury yachts in Europe and the US. But ever since the 2021 military coup in Myanmar prompted Western sanctions on timber trade, India has become the second largest importer of “conflict wood” from the country. Read the key findings of our investigation.

💎 *Best of Premium*

For the last few months, the Delhi Police has been trying to hunt down three 17-year-olds who allegedly fired at people in localities of Northeast Delhi to assert their dominance and gain notoriety in the eyes of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. The cat-and-mouse chase finally came to an end because of their IPC-inspired Instagram usernames . Here is what happened. 

👩🏽‍💻 *Must Read*

After the Supreme Court ruled that the ECI should be appointed on the advice of a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the CJI, we look back at India’s past and explain how this tricky question has been tackled from the times of Ambedkar to that of Advani. Read our explainer.

In our opinion section today, Sourav Roy Burman writes on the BJP’s rise-and-rise story in the Northeast: “In its moment of triumph, while the Northeast offers the BJP many reasons to cheer, its opponents, who stand diminished, could do with much-needed introspection. While it may not register with many uninitiated in Tripura’s political history, Sarkar offered a cogent reasoning to not trust the Left.”

Sharing his ideas on health systems, energy, climate change, and creating an equal world through innovation, Bill Gates, co-chair Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said, ‘India is not just a beneficiary of new breakthroughs, but an innovator of them.’ Here’s what he shared while delivering the fifth Ramnath Goenka Memorial Lecture in New Delhi this week. 

⏱️ *And Finally*

🏏 Sandip G writes: In the end, Nathan Lyon was tired. Soon after he saw the ball burst through the waft of Mohammed Siraj, his eighth wicket of the innings, he hunched on his knees, face into the pitch as though mumbling a silent thanks to the pitch, before his ecstatic teammates mobbed him. This was no personal moment of redemption or benediction for a bowler with 479 wickets, but a further testimonial of his beguiling craft, a nod that he is not just one of the finest bowlers of his era, but of all time.

🤐 Delhi Confidential: Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba has called for a meeting to review the status of budget announcements for 2023-24. Many are curious since most of the Budget announcements are to be implemented in the next financial year, which is yet to begin.

🎧 In today’s episode of the 3 Things Podcast, we take a look at the election results in Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura, the origins of Covid-19, and the Supreme Court’s verdict on picking the country’s top election officers. 

*Until tomorrow,*
*Rahel Philipose and Ariba*