Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma (File photo)Assembly Election 2023 Results Highlights, Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland: With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and allies set to retain power in the three Northeast states — Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland — the focus has now shifted to government formation. Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Friday morning arrived at Raj Bhavan to meet with Governor Phagu Chauhan and to stake claim to form the government.
As the counting of votes came to an end on Thursday, the BJP and allies comfortably crossed the halfway mark in Tripura and Nagaland. In Nagaland, the NDPP+BJP raced into the lead right from the word go and maintained the pole position throughout. This was in keeping with exit poll projections.
It was a close fight in Tripura where the BJP+ went only slightly above the majority mark of 31 winning 33 seats. The Left+ Congress was down to half the BJP+ number, with the Tipra Motha bagging 13 seats. The BJP local leadership still reached out to the TIPRA Motha, saying it is open to all their demands except the one for ‘Greater Tipraland’. In Meghalaya, the NPP ended up winning 26 seats, which is four short of the majority mark of 30. Both the Congress and TMC won 5 each, while the BJP could finish with 3. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma called Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking his support.
Follow Assembly Elections Results 2023 for live updates and analysis. Click here (Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura) for state-wise numbers.
Voters standing in a queue show their ID cards before casting their votes for the Nagaland Assembly election, at a polling booth in Dimapur, Monday, Feb. 27, 2023. (PTI Photo)
Outgoing Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Friday called on Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya and tendered his resignation.
Suspense over the next CM prevailed as he did not immediately stake claim to form the next government.
The ruling BJP and its ally Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) won 32 seats and one constituency respectively to return to power in the northeastern state for the second consecutive term.
“I tendered my resignation to the governor. He asked me to continue till the new government is formed,” Saha told reporters after coming out of Raj Bhavan.
He said the government will take oath on March 8.
To a question, he said he did not stake claim to form the government.
BJP chief spokesperson Subrata Chakraborty said the chief minister's name will be decided at the legislature party meeting, the date of which has not yet been fixed. (PTI)
NPP Chief Conrad Sangma resigned as Meghalaya Chief Minister before the Governor on Friday afternoon and staked his claim to form government in the state.
In Meghalaya, the NPP ended up winning 26 seats, which is four short of the majority mark of 30. Both the Congress and TMC won 5 each, while the BJP could finish with 3.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Friday morning arrived at Raj Bhavan to meet with Governor Phagu Chauhan and to stake claim to form the government.
The district administration of West Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya has imposed curfew in Sahsniang village till further orders, following post-vote counting violence, news agency ANI reported.
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.
Here are the key takeaways from Thursday’s results:
1. In the final count, the NDPP won 25 seats and the BJP 12, putting the only pre-poll alliance in the state in a position to comfortably form the next government. This also marks an improvement in the alliance’s performance since the last election, when the two parties jointly won 29 constituencies. This appears to largely be on account of the NDPP’s growth at the expense of the Naga People’s Front (NPF). The NDPP’s vote share has grown from 25.3 per cent in the last election to 32.2 per cent this time. After a sharp rise in its footprint in Nagaland in the last election, the BJP’s performance this time more or less plateaued. Like last time, the party won 12 seats but its vote share increased from 15.31 per cent to 18.8 per cent.
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Immediately after the death of Bir Bikram Manikya in 1947, the royal family of Tripura had fled to Shillong: The Queen-regent, an heir-minor to the throne, and their ministers in tow. Before his death, Bir Bikram had tried and failed to counter the Left in the state. Now his grandson, Pradyot Debbarma, is back in the thick of politics in the state – fuelled by social media, and energised by young voters – euphorically spearheading the movement to “save his people”. This curious turn of events, rather a double return – a return of the king and a return to the kingdom – not only exposes the limits of identity politics but also offers historical insights into the rise of BJP and decline of the Left Front in Tripura.
The Left Front under Manik Sarkar had expended its energies towards destroying the ideological basis of identity politics, but the BJP breathed new lease of life into the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), and their alliance defeated the Left Front in the 2018 election. However, the rise of Tipra Motha and its swelling support base put the BJP-IPFT alliance in jitters just before the 2023 election. This time the BJP went into the election cautiously confident of holding on to its seats – even as its alliance partner, IPFT, self-destructed into oblivion. Tipra Motha has not only turned the separate statehood demand against the BJP-IPFT, but the demand has become the sole issue for the majority of the tribal voters. No wonder, then, despite the massive war chest and state machinery at its disposal, the BJP had to recruit the firebrand, P K Jamatia, who made her political career by championing a separate state. Read more.
The return of the Neiphiu Rio-led Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP)-BJP alliance to the 14th Nagaland Assembly with a comfortable majority was expected. Two of the alliance’s major opponents, the Naga People’s Front (NPF) and Congress, lacked a strong organisation and popular leaders.
They did not have the political will and resources to match the NDPP-BJP. The en masse defection of 21 NPF MLAs to NDPP in April 2022 seemed to have cleared the decks for the Rio-led NDPP-BJP alliance. While the BJP is likely to remain a key player in the coalition government, the NDPP has consolidated its position by occupying the space vacated by the NPF. The poll results are significant for four reasons: First, the election of two women for the first time — the Nagaland assembly never had a woman member despite Naga society being seen as “egalitarian”. Second, the polls underline the rise of the NDPP as a regional party.
Third, Neiphiu Rio is set to equal S C Jamir’s record of assuming the CM’s post for the fifth time. He is also poised to eclipse the latter’s record of holding office for more than 15 years. These are no ordinary achievements for a regional party in a small state that is marked by a fluid bipolar, yet multiparty, electoral system where factionalism and defection are endemic. Fourth, the expansion of the BJP in a Christian-dominated state like Nagaland is significant. It has been made possible by the state’s fluid party system and should not necessarily be seen as a function of the wide acceptability of its ideology and cultural agenda. Read more.
Chugging smoothly along the broad gauge tracks wedged between endless rubber plantations, the Agartala-Silchar Express would reach its destination, the state capital, in less than an hour. Having exhausted his stock of beverages and water bottles, hawker Kalipada Sarkar sat by the train door, appearing tired, yet content. “Aibo, aibo, BJP oi abar aibo… amrai jaani chandabazi ki jinish (The BJP is returning, only we know what forced subscriptions mean for people like us)”. Ram Mandir, dhara 370, BBC — emotive issues which have earned the BJP rich dividends elsewhere — are no pull for Sarkar, whose affinity towards that party are for other reasons.
“My day used to start with paying subscriptions to some wing of the party or other, which seemed endless. And on top of that, we were forced to take up subscriptions of the party mouthpiece,” Sarkar told me. 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, whose tenure in power saw the perpetuation of what academics describe as “party-society”, essentially a societal structure where the presence of the Party is all pervasive. That, claimed Sarkar and so did many others, was not the case anymore, notwithstanding the BJP’s failings on other counts such as generating employment, bringing industries, improving education and healthcare services. Read more.
As the ruling DMK-backed Congress nominee looked to register a massive win in the Erode East bypoll, DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin called it a public endorsement of the “Dravidian model of governance” of his 22-month old government.
The Congress’s E V K S Elangovan, backed by the DMK, is leading comfortably against his nearest rival, KS Thennarasu of the AIADMK. Stalin said the ground was being prepared for a victory of the DMK-led ‘Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA)’ in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. “During the campaign I repeatedly sought people’s support for the Dravidian model of governance.
People have given a verdict saying it should be done with more vigour,” he said. Read more.
Just two years after its birth, TIPRA Motha, the party led by Tripura royal scion Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma, has emerged as the second largest party after the ruling BJP in the Assembly elections The tribal party that rode the elections on the slogan of ‘Greater Tipraland’, has secured victory in 13 seats – all reserved for tribals, and has come second in six other seats. Greater Tipraland, which was initially touted as a separate state, was later revised as a demand for an ‘autonomous state’ as per Article 244 (A) of the Constitution, for greater legislative, administrative and financial autonomy than the tribal ADC currently has.
Read Pradyot's interview with the Indian Express
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Thursday described the party's victory in Tripura and Nagaland as “affirmation” of the northeast region's resolve to progress on the path paved by the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He termed the BJP's poll result in Meghalaya, where the party could win only two seats though it will remain a part of the next government, a “humbling experience”. “BJP's win in Tripura & Nagaland is an affirmation of North East's continued resolve to prosper on the path paved by vision of Hon PM @narendramodi Ji.
The future is glorious & safe. Much gratitude to @JPNadda Ji for his continued guidance,” Sarma tweeted. In Tripura, BJP won 32 seats and its ally, the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura, one, cruising past the half-way mark of 31 to retain power. The saffron party bagged 12 seats in Nagaland, while its partner Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) won 25 seats in the 60-member Assembly, and the alliance will continue in power.
“Meghalaya's verdict has been humbling! Heartening that more people have posed their faith in us and helped us improve our vote share than last elections. It strengthens our resolve to continue to serve people with more conviction driven by vision of PM Shri @narendramodi Ji,” Sarma added on Twitter. (PTI)
The Congress on Thursday termed Meghalaya's NPP seeking the support of its erstwhile partner BJP to form the next government in the state as a "paradox" after the saffron party's central leadership described the Conrad K Sangma dispensation as one of the "most corrupt" in the country.
Talking to PTI, Congress MLA Ronny V Lyngdoh, who won from the Mylliem assembly constituency, said the opposition will continue to work with like-minded parties despite facing a defeat. "There lies the paradox. Union Home Minister Amit Shah says that this (NPP) is the most corrupt government. How can they work with the same party?" Lyngdoh mentioned.
Addressing a poll rally in North Tura constituency, Shah had on February 16 said the BJP broke its alliance with the NPP before the elections in Meghalaya so that it could contest all the assembly seats and emerge stronger. (PTI)
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha has successfully led the BJP in its efforts to retain power in the state, with the party beating anti-incumbency and the emergence of TIPRA Motha to cross the majority mark and bag 32 seats. The CM himself won from the constituency of Town Bardowali by 1,257 votes. He speaks with Debraj Deb about the BJP’s victory and the state government’s plans going ahead. Excerpts:
You have won for the second time in less than a year and the BJP has secured a majority on its own.
The entire credit goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president J P Nadda and others for bolstering the confidence of party karyakartas in the state. Everyone, including grassroots workers such as ‘panna pramukhs’ and booth presidents, worked hard and it showed in the results today.
The elections were held amid the ECI’s ‘Mission Zero poll violence’. What is your appeal to the people now?
Despite being a triangular fight, the elections were held peacefully. We have appealed to everyone on our side and the Opposition to maintain peace. We do not want post-poll violence. These incidents of violence were common in the past. They should not repeat. Read Full Interview
Hailing the BJP’s performance after poll results were declared Thursday from Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described it as evidence of the country’s respect for democracy, and “a vote for progress and stability”.
He also sought to draw a line all the way from the Northeast down to the south, saying that the results have proved that allegations about the party being anti-Christian were wrong — and a “BJP coalition would come to power in Kerala also” as the people will “realise that the Left and the Congress have joined hands to loot the state”. Addressing leaders and workers at the BJP headquarters, Modi said, “Their (the Opposition’s) ecosystem always tried to brand the BJP — initially as a baniya party, then an urban party which does not have any support in rural India. But the BJP kept proving all of them wrong. They said we are anti-tribal, but the party won all tribal seats in Gujarat recently. Now, like the Dalits and backward communities, the tribals are also with us. Minorities were fearful about BJP for years but the people of Goa and now from the Northeast have exposed such propaganda. The Christians in Nagaland and Meghalaya keep supporting us.”
Attacking the Congress-Left combine in Tripura, Modi pointed out that both parties have fought each other in Kerala. “The people in Kerala have seen this, they have seen their alliance… The truth is that the two have joined and are looting the state. So I am confident that in Kerala also, BJP will form a coalition government,” he said.
The next Assembly elections in Kerala, where the Left has been in power since 2016, are due in 2026. Read Full Report
With seven of its candidates emerging victorious in the Assembly elections on Thursday, the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party has become the biggest Opposition party in Nagaland and is set to get the leader of Opposition post in the House.
“This is the result of our hard work in northeast India over the past 10 years. I had travelled across Nagaland for the past four months and especially concentrated on the state’s eastern parts. The people of Nagaland have entrusted us with their votes and we will be holding a meeting of our legislative party within two days to decide on the leader of the Opposition,” said Narendra Verma, the NCP general secretary for the Northeast.
Verma said that at a time when the Congress could not win even one seat in Nagaland, his party’s winning the highest number of seats in the Opposition camp was a big achievement. “We contested 12 seats. While we won seven, we lost five seats by a very thin margin,” he said. Read More
A clear majority in Tripura, a significant stake in Nagaland and enough power to wield influence in Meghalaya — Thursday’s poll results from the Northeast have come as a significant victory for the BJP.
The brightest spot for the party was the win in Tripura, overcoming apprehensions about the consolidated Left-Congress opposition and the tribal push against it by the newly formed Tipra Morcha of Pradyot Manikya Debbarma. More so, because the BJP had wrested the state from the Left in 2018 to mark an ideological milestone in the region.
In Tripura, the BJP’s voteshare and seat tally came down but the margin was still decisive — 32 seats in the 60-member assembly, down from 36 in 2018. The BJP-led NDA romped home to a facile win in Nagaland, where the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) is its senior partner. In Meghalaya, the party could not gain much — its tally remained two in the 60-member assembly — but its leaders are at work and have enough power to retain influence in the Conrad Sangma-led National People’s Party (NPP). Read More
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with BJP President J P Nadda and Union Minister Amit Shah during the victory celebrations at the BJP HQ in New Delhi, after the party's good performance in Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya Assembly polls. (Express photos by Amit Mehra)
Addresing the party workers, PM Modi further said that the way the northeast poll results have been extensively highlighted shows the region is distant neither from 'Dilli' (Delhi) nor 'Dil' (heart).
PM Modi also credited BJP's consistent wins to the 'triveni' of work and work culture of its governments and its workers' commitment to service.
Addressing party workers at the BJP headquarters during the party's victory celebrations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: "Today's results show there is full faith in democracy and democratic institutions."
As the Bharatiya Janata Party retained Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi for the victory celebrations.
Assam Chief Minister and the BJP’s Northeast face, Himanta Biswa Sarma, is again the man of the moment, as the party looked set to return to power in Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya.
Sarma strategised the party’s campaign in the three states and also led the electioneering. Now, with Tripura and Nagaland in BJP pocket, he is leading the post-election talks to put together a government in Meghalaya.
After the elections concluded and, even before the results day, Sarma was at work, holding talks with both the TIPRA Morcha’s Pradyot Manikya Debbarma – who had expressed his disinterest in going with the BJP as it rejected his demand of Greater Tipraland — and National People’s Party (NPP) leader Conrad Sangma. Read More
With the BJP retaining Tripura, a state where it marked a significant ideological victory against the Left in 2018, the next big question is about its leadership. Although before the elections the party publicly acknowledged that incumbent Chief Minister Manik Saha is its CM face, speculation is rife that the party may review it now that the elections are over.
Sources in the party said the national leadership was contemplating appointing Pratima Bhoumik, at present the Union Minister of State for Empowerment and Social Justice, for the top job in the state to “send the right message to the northeastern region as well as to the entire nation” ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. But, according to a party insider, it may not happen now, and the change may happen later given that Saha has led the party to victory. If Bhoumik is appointed, she will become the first woman chief minister in the history of the Northeast.
Asked about the prospect of Bhoumik being appointed CM, a senior leader said, “It cannot be ruled out. The Centre can move Manik Saha to the central government if it decides to appoint her.” Read this Political Pulse by Liz Mathew
Terming it a 'historic day' for the Northeast, Union Home Minister Amit Shah Thursday said it is evident again that for peace, development and prosperity, the BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is people's preference.
After the declaration of results of the assembly polls in Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya, Shah described the party's re-election in Tripura as a 'victory of pro-development politics' and thanked the people of Nagaland for choosing 'peace and progress'. He also thanked the people of Meghalaya for their support and blessings to the BJP and said the party under Prime Minister Modi will leave no stone unturned in serving the people and creating a bright future for them.
With the National People's Party on course to end up with 26 seats, which is four short of the majority mark of 30 in the 59-member Meghalaya Assembly, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has called Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking his support and blessings in forming the new government.
As the BJP and allies comfortably crossed the halfway mark in Tripura and Nagaland, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday congratulated the people of the two states for the mandate. With a hung verdict looming over Meghalaya, Modi expressed his gratitude to the people of the state for supporting the BJP.
Taking to Twitter, Modi thanked the people of Nagaland for NDPP-BJP alliance's win, saying the double-engine government will keep working for its progress.
For Tripura, he termed the mandate as a vote for progress and stability and asserted that the BJP will continue to boost the state's growth trajectory.
Thanking the people of Meghalaya, PM Modi vowed that the BJP will keep working hard to enhance the development trajectory and focus on empowering the people of the state.
Nagaland now has two women MLAs, with the NDPP’s Salhoutuonuo Kruse winning from the Western Angami constituency. The state, which has had 13 Assemblies so far, never had a woman MLA before Thursday’s result. Hekani Jakhalu, who won from the Dimapur III constituency, is the other woman MLA to be elected to the House.
Kruse and Jakhalu were the only two women candidates fielded by the NDPP. The BJP’s Kahuli Sema and the Congress’s Rosy Thomson, the two other women candidates in the fray, are trailing in their constituencies.
For Kruse, 56, this election was her first foray into electoral politics. Know more about Salhoutuonuo Kruse
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra has suffered a major setback in its traditional stronghold of the Kasba Peth Assembly constituency in Pune, where the Congress’s Ravindra Dhangekar trounced the former’s candidate Hemant Rasne by over 10,800 votes.
The Kasba Peth bypoll was a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress, with Dhangekar being the Opposition alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)’s common candidate.
Buoyed by the Congress candidate’s victory, which has come as a shot in the arm to the MVA, state Congress president Nana Patole said, “It is a verdict of people against the high-handedness of BJP which blatantly misused power and money.” Click to read this Political Pulse
Living up to its promise, the small regional outfit United Democratic Party (UDP) looked set to emerge as the second largest party in the Meghalaya Assembly after the results were declared Thursday.
A part of the ruling Meghalaya Development Alliance coalition, including the National People’s Party (which was set to emerge as the single largest) and BJP, the UDP had contested separately like its other partners. It was headed to win 11 seats, nearly double its tally of 6 last time and far ahead of other non-NPP parties.
In what drew some curiosity, in the days leading up to the election, five MLAs from different parties, including a minister, had joined the UDP. However, the party has always been a serious player in the state. Read More
The Exit polls had predicted a return of power of the BJP in Nagaland with coalition partner National Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP). The results are on the predicted lines as the NDPP BJP raced into the lead right from the beginning and has crossed the majority mark comfortably with a joint tally of 33 seats in the 60-member Assembly. The coalition is also leading in another three states.
On Thursday, the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP)’s Hekani Jakhalu became the first ever woman to be elected to the Nagaland Legislative Assembly.
Though the state has had 13 state Assemblies so far, not one woman has been elected as an MLA till date. As counting was underway in the state on Thursday afternoon, Jakhalu was the sixth person to be officially declared winner by the Election Commission of India.
She received 45.16 per cent of the 31,874 votes in the constituency, just ahead of the Lok Jansakthi Party (Ram Vilas Paswan)’s Azheto Zhimomi, who received 40.34 per cent of the votes. The contest was neck and neck to the finish, with the numbers constantly see-sawing between the two. Read More
According to the Exit polls, the BJP was tipped to retain Tripura, and the results have been in line with the predictions with the ruling BJP inching towards victory as it has crossed the halfway mark in the 60-member Assembly, winning in 31 seats, and leading in 2. As projected in the Exit polls, royal scion Pradyot Debbarma-led TIPRA Motha has bagged 13 seats.
The Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA Motha), which emerged as a force to reckon with in the run-up to the Assembly elections in Tripura, is leading in 11 seats, chipping away at the ruling coalition of BJP-IPFT, which held these seats over the last five years.
However, considering how well-attended its rallies were, the electoral yield of the party, led by royal scion Pradyot Debbarma, appears underwhelming, especially after it appeared to have struck a chord with voters from the indigenous communities with its core demand for a separate state of “Greater Tipraland”.
While the TIPRA contested 42 seats, even fielding Bengali candidates in unreserved seats in a bid to tackle the possibility of ethnic polarisation and consolidation of Bengali votes in the BJP’s favour, it was really in contention only in the 20 seats that are reserved for STs. Read this Political Pulse
In a major setback for Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma's National People's Party, three-time MLA James Sangma has lost by 18 votes.
James Sangma, the elder brother of CM Conrad Sangma, lost to the TMC’s Rupa Marak in Dadenggre constituency. A heavyweight, James held various key portfolios in the NPP-led government, including home, law, and power.
In a nail-biting finish, BJP ally NDPP’s second woman candidate Salhoutuonuo Kruse has won the Western Angami seat by just 7 votes. She will join Hekani Jakhalu as MLA in the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly, which is set to be the state’s first ever assembly to have women MLAs. A while back, Jakhalu, also from NDPP, had won from Dimapur-III seat, becoming the first-ever woman MLA after 60 years since Nagaland attained statehood.
Celebrations break out at BJP office in Agartala as the party has won 15 seats and is leading on 18 of the total 60 seats in Tripura. CM Manik Saha, former CM and party MP Biplab Deb and party leader Sambit Patra also joined in the celebrations.
Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha congratulated the electors for choosing the BJP for a second term and promised the party would work for the development of Tripura ahead and would form ‘Ek Tripura, Srestha Tripura’.
“PM Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Party president JP Nadda and other senior leaders have campaigned here on central welfare schemes, Act East Policy and took our development initiatives to the people, along with our panna pramukhs and other organizational leaders. It all went in favour of us. My only issue ahead is development and we shall keep doing that. The election has been peaceful this time on February 16. My appeal to all party workers and opposition sides is to maintain peace and make sure no violence occurs anywhere,' said Dr. Manik Saha.
Incumbent Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma is all set to retain the constituency of South Tura by a margin of nearly 3,000 votes. BJP’s Bernard Marak has polled 7260 votes.
Speaing to reporters on the results, Sangma said: "Thankful to the people of the state for voting for our party. We are short of a few numbers, so we will wait for the final results to come out, and we will decide how to go forward."
Supporters of Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma's National People's Party are seen celebrating and welcoming him as the party has won 5 seats and is leading in over 20 seats so far.
Incumbent Nagaland Chief Minister and the NDPP-BJP alliance’s CM candidate Neiphiu Rio has won with a thumping majority from his stronghold, Northern Angami II.
Tripura CM Manik Saha has collected his winning certificate as he wins the election from the Town Bardowali constituency.
"I am feeling good and after winning I am getting this certificate so what can be better than this," he told news agency ANI.
The ruling National People’s Party (NPP) in Meghalaya was leading, while the B JP was ahead in 10 assembly segments, TMC in 9, Congress in 6, UDP in 4 and others in 9, according to the trends.
While the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which had overnight become the principal Opposition in the state after 12 Congress MLAs defected to it in November 2021, is putting up a decent fight, the Congress, which was the single largest party in 2018, has found itself in an embarrassing position. Even as Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma is leading in the South Tura seat against his nearest rival Bernard N Marak of the BJP, state Congress president Vincent H Pala is currently trailing behind NPP’s Santa Mary Shylla in the Sutnga Saipung seat.
It may be recalled the exit polls had predicted that no party would cross the halfway mark in the 60-member Assembly. As per the aggregate of the four exit polls, the NPP may end up with 20 seats, while the BJP, an NPP ally in power which fought the elections separately, may increase its tally from 2 to 6. Read more.
Congress candidate Ravindra Dhangekar celebrated his victory from Kasba Peth assembly seat, along with supporters outside the counting booth on Thursday.
(Express Photos by Pavan Khengre)
The Congress’s performance in the Northeast elections was far below its own expectations, with only bye-election results in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal bringing it some cheer.
Though the party’s performance in the Tripura and Meghalaya Assembly elections was not up to its expectations, the party can draw some hope from winning a handful of seats in Tripura, where it had drawn a blank last time, and maintaining some presence in the Meghalaya Assembly. In Nagaland, the party did not have much hope. In Meghalaya, the Congress was the single-largest party in the 2018 elections, with 21 MLAs but went into the polls this time without a single legislator.
In November 2021, 12 legislators, including former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, switched over to the Trinamool Congress (TMC). The others too jumped ship and joined other parties. Read more.
The BJP+NDPP is well past the halfway mark in Nagaland.
News18: BJP+NDPP ahead in 39 (winning in 26), NPP in 4 (winning in 2), NPF in 4 (winning in 2), Others in 13 (winning in 6)
India Today: BJP+NDPP ahead in 39, NPF ahead in 1, Others ahead in 20
NDTV: BJP+NDPP ahead in 39, NPF in 1, Others in 20
Congress candidate Byron Biswas was ahead of the TMC's Debashish Banerjee in the Sagardighi Assembly bypoll, in what could be an upset loss for the ruling party in West Bengal. Banerjee is a distant relative of Mamata Banerjee.
The BJP had fielded Dilip Saha. If Biswas wins, he will be the only Congress MLA in the Assembly. And, according to TMC sources, if the party lost in Sagardighi, what would be interesting to see is if the minority vote has shifted to the Congress-CPIM alliance because Sagardighi has almost 63% minority vote. Read more here.
In Chinchwad, as of 01:50 PM, the Bharatiya Janata Party's candidate Ashwini Jagtap was seen leading over NCP's Nana Kate by 6.366 votes.
The situation remains about the same in Meghalaya. The NPP is ahead in 26 seats, just shy of the majority mark.
Times Now: NPP ahead in 18 (winning in 8), Congress in 4 (winning in 1), BJP in 3, and Others in 20
NDTV: NPP ahead in 26, UDP in 10, Congress in 5, TMC in 5, BJP in 3, and Others in 10
India Today: NPP ahead in 26, Congress in 5, BJP in 3, Others in 25
News18: NPP ahead in 27 (winning in 14), TMC in 6, Congress in 5, BJP in 4, and others in 17
In Tripura, the BJP remains well past the majority mark, according to multiple news channels. But with the BJP taking a comfortable lead, the TIPRA Motha's prospects as kingmaker appear to be diminishing.
India Today: BJP+ ahead in 34, Left+Congress ahead in 14, TMP ahead in 12
NDTV: BJP+ ahead 34, Congress+Left in 14, TIPRA ahead in 12
Times Now: BJP+ ahead in 20, TIPRA ahead in 8, Congress+Left ahead in 9
After three rounds of counting, Congress candidate Elangovan secured 27,843 votes, leading in the Erode (East) bypolls in Tamil Nadu. AIADMK's Thennarasu polled 9,146 votes, according to election authorities.
The bypoll was held on February 27 and was necessitated by the death of sitting Congress MLA Thirumahan Everaa.
According to the ECI website, AJSU party's Sunita Choudhary is leading the Ramgarh assembly bypolls in Jharkhand by a 19,529 vote margin over Congress rival Bajrant Mahto.
AJSU party has tied up with the BJP for the bypolls, while Congress is contesting the bypolls as an ally to the JMM-led coalition.
After Congress candidate Ravindra Dhangekar won Kasba Peth bypolls on Thursday, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray referred to it as a "victory of the people."
He said, "The BJP needs to introspect if the gaddari was right or wrong and if it is helping them or damaging them. This is a victory of the people. They could not accept the gaddari and lowly politics of BJP and hence they gave this decision."
Additionally, state Congress president Nana Patole thanked the people of Kasba Peth. He said, "Even though BJP put all its top leaders to win this election, the people have given them an answer."
Commenting on Fadnavis' statement made at Vidhan Bhavan earlier today, he said, "First they should look inward, in their own house/state and then speak of other states. He should have been gracious enough to congratulate me. But that is his choice."
Fadnavis, soon after Congress' victory, congratulated Patole, however, said, "Three states had elections and Congress is no where to be seen. So you need to introspect with us."
Take a look at the results so far, according to the Election Commission.
?? Nagaland: NDPP-BJP ahead in 34 (including 5 wins), NPF in 3, Congress in 5.
?? Tripura: BJP ahead in 29 (including 3 wins), CPI ahead in 11, Congress ahead in 4, TMP in 12
?? Meghalaya: NPP ahead in 22 (including 4 wins), TMC in 5, Congress in 4, PDF in 2
In Meghalaya, the NPP ahead but still well shy of the majority mark.
News18: NPP ahead in 28 (including 12 wins), TMC ahead in 6, BJP and Congress ahead in 4 each, and others ahead in 17
NDTV: NPP ahead in 24, UDP ahead in 11, TMC ahead in 5, Congress in 4 and BJP in 3, and others in 12
Times Now: NPP in 20, Congress in 4, BJP in 3, Others in 26
India Today: NPP in 24, Congress in 4, BJP in 3, and others in 28
Ahead of results in Tripura and Meghalaya, the possibility of a hung Assembly in the two states saw hectic backroom meetings in both the ruling and Opposition camps.
While the BJP’s national leadership and senior leaders in the Northeast were contemplating the next steps if the party fell short of a majority in Tripura, though the party seemed headed for a simple majority, they were also considering various options in Meghalaya.
The ruling National People’s Party (NPP) is leading in the early trends in Meghalaya, but whether it would get a clear majority in the 60-member Assembly remains unclear. Liz Mathew reports
Soon after Congress' Ravindra Dhangekar won the Kasba Peth assembly seat Thursday, defeating BJP's Hemant Rasane, Maharashtra party leaders reacted to the victory in Vidhan Bhavan.
Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, after the state Congress President Nana Patole announced the results, congratulated the latter on the victory. He said, "We have to accept results, just as you will have to accept what happens in Chinchwad. We will introspect a bit, just like you have to."
"The only question is it has now come to a point where you get one victory and you feel the need to stand up in the assembly and announce it. Three states had elections and Congress is no where to be seen So you need to introspect with us," Fadnavis added.
In Tripura, the BJP chief spokesperson Subrata Chakraborty said that the saffron party was ready to accept all demands of the TIPRA Motha, other than that for Greater Tipraland, news agency PTI reported. As counting continues in the state, BJP is only slightly over the majority mark with the number vulnerable to change as the counting progresses.
The TIPRA Motha party, which has emerged as a possible kingmaker, is riding on its plank of “Greater Tipraland”, a proposed autonomous state for tribals inside Tripura which would have greater legislative, administrative and financial autonomy than the existing Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) administration.
As of 12:40 PM, Left-supported Congress candidate Bayron Biswas is leading over TMC's Debashish Banerjee in Sagardighi assembly seat, by a margin of 7694 votes.
Moreover, in Jharkhand's Ramgarh assembly seat, AJSU party's Sunita Choudhary is leading over Congress' Bajrang Mahto, by a margin of 16,863 votes.
We are closest to getting a clearer picture of winners and losers in Nagaland, where some of the leads have started converting into wins. The BJP+NDPP alliance continues to charge ahead and is now well past the majority mark.
NDTV: BJP+NDPP ahead in 39, NPF ahead in 2, Congress ahead in 1, Others ahead in 18
Times Now: BJP+NDPP ahead in 36, NPF ahead in 2, Congress ahead in 1, Others ahead in 16
News18: BJP+NDPP ahead in 36, which includes 10 wins, NPF ahead in 2, Congress ahead in 2, Others in 16