NDA in Tripura, Nagaland; hung House in Meghalaya: Exit polls

Exit polls on Tuesday predicted a massive expansion of BJP's footprint in the northeast with wins for its alliances in Tripura and Nagaland. In Meghalaya, NPP founded by former Speaker P A Sangma is projected to lead in a hung House unseating ruling Congress.
Wins in Tripura and Nagaland would be a big plus for BJP which has had a marginal presence in Tripura and Nagaland. Given that NPP is an NDA member, BJP wouldn't be too unhappy with it replacing Congress in Meghalaya either even if its own projected tally is rather modest.

Of the three exit polls, two gave BJP and its ally IPFT a clear win in Tripura (see graph) while the third suggested a neck and neck fight with the ruling Left Front.

Congress, which was the main opposition party in the last elections in 2013, may fail to win a single seat in the state, all the polls indicated.





In Nagaland, where BJP fought the election in alliance with NDPP led by former chief minister Neiphiu Rio, the alliance is projected by the CVoter and NewsX polls to have a clear edge and perhaps to get a majority in the 60-member house. The ruling NPF, also an NDA constituent, is seen to be not too far behind while Congress could fail to register its presence in this state, too. The poll by Axis MyIndia made no seat projections on Nagaland, but said NPF seemed to have an edge.

In Meghalaya, CVoter and NewsX saw NPP as the front runner in a hung house, while Axis suggested Congress would finish as the largest party. In either case, though, the dice seem to be loaded against incumbent chief minister Mukul Sangma since it would be far easier for NPP to find allies among the BJP and regional parties than it would be for Congress.

If the results come true, Congress may for the first time be reduced to having just one government in the entire northeast, the one in Mizoram.