Sunset is red, Sunrise is absolute saffron: Modi

Agartala/Shillong/Kohima : The stunning saffron surge in northeast on Saturday decimated the Left in Tripura, one of its last two citadels, with BJP ousting CPI-M from power after 25 long years and looking to form a coalition government in Nagaland while eyeing power in Meghalaya with the help from anti-Congress parties. The BJP Parliamentary Board met on Saturday evening and expressed confidence that the party would form governments in Nagaland and Meghalaya also, claiming it has got absolute majority with allies in the two states that have thrown up fractured verdicts.

Riding on Saturday’s electoral victory, PM Modi and party President Amit Shah told BJP workers that their goal now should be to capture power in Karnataka, Kerala, West Bengal and Odisha. Pulling off a historic victory, BJP and its ally Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), a tribal-dominated party, together won 43 out of 59 Tripura constituencies. BJP on its own won 35 seats, four more than the half-way mark, while its ally IPFT won eight seats.

In a remarkable performance, the alliance swept all the 20 seats reserved for tribals. BJP, which had no MLAs in the outgoing Assembly and polled just 1.5 per cent votes in the 2013 elections, losing deposits in 49 of the 50 constituencies it contested, secured over 42 per cent of votes in the February 18 Tripura elections.

Tripura Pradesh BJP President Biplab Kumar Deb, who won from Banamalipur, is tipped to be the Chief Ministerial choice.

In Nagaland, the ruling Naga People’s Front (NPF) won 27 of the 60 assembly seats while the BJP got 11. Interestingly, the BJP has two ministers in the NPF government but had stitched a pre-poll alliance with the National Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) that won 16 seats. The NPF headed by CM TR Zeliang has already passed a resolution, expressing its desire to continue its alliance with the BJP. BJP leaders have also given enough indications of going with the NPF, possibly dumping ally NDPP.

Meghalaya, once a Congress bastion, appeared headed for a non-Congress government. Emerging as the single largest party, the ruling Congress won 21 seats — down from 29 seats it had won in 2013 — in the 60-member Assembly.  The National People’s Party (NPP), a possible BJP ally, won 19 seats. The BJP got two.  With power at the Centre, the BJP can cobble a post-poll coalition to form a government by roping in smaller parties with the NPP at the head. The smaller winning parties include PDF (4), UDP (6) and HSPDP (2). The KHNAM and NCP have won one seat each and independents three.

Addressing party workers in Delhi, Modi and Shah hailed the verdict in the northeast as historic and said the goal for the party workers should be to capture power in Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha and West Bengal. Briefing reporters after the BJP Parliamentary Board meeting, Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda said Transport and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari and Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram will go to Agartala to oversee the election of legislature party leader in the state.

The party also decided to depute Nadda and General Secretary Arun Singh to Kohima and Union Ministers Kiren Rijiju and KJ Alphons to Shillong to hold talks with regional parties and try and form governments in the two states.