Giant BJP Lead In Nagaland, Ahead In Tripura, C Sangma Gains In Meghalaya

In Tripura, the ruling BJP has taken a big lead over its nearest rival, the Left-Congress alliance. The BJP is hoping for a big comeback, far above its 2018 score of 36. The party has contested in alliance with ruling partner Indigenous Progressive Front of Tripura, or IPFT. The BJP has crossed the halfway mark and is currently leading on 39 seats.

"Tripura will have a BJP Chief Minister, Nagaland will have a coalition government while that of Meghalaya will be decided as per seats won by the BJP," Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam Chief Minister and the BJP's chief strategist in the northeast, predicted yesterday.

In Meghalaya, Conrad Sangma's National People's Party or NPP is slightly ahead of Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress.

In Nagaland, the BJP and its partner NDPP (Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party) have surged ahead and are leading on 50 seats in the 60-member assembly.

The outcome of these elections, along with other polls later this year, will be crucial for parties ahead of next year's general election.

In Meghalaya, the BJP and Conrad Sangma's NPP contested the election separately after a five-year alliance. But the parties are believed to be in talks. Mr Sangma and Himanta Biswa Sarma held discussions in a midnight meeting in Guwahati on Tuesday. Sources said they discussed the possibility of a post-poll alliance, though the leaders played it down as a "meeting between friends".

Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress can play a key role in a tight race. An aggregate of four exit polls have predicted that the BJP will get seven seats, up from two, which would take the strength of the alliance to 27 seats, four short of majority in the 60-member assembly.

The CPM, which ruled Tripura for 35 years, has joined forces with the Congress in what is largely being seen as a last-ditch effort to regain its numbers. Over the last five years, both parties have suffered a massive erosion of their support base. The CPM contested 47 of the state's 60 seats, leaving just 13 for the Congress.

The Tipra Motha – the new party floated by former royal Pradyot Kishore Debbarma with the core demand of Greater Tipraland – is also hoping for a chunk of seats and a chance to play kingmaker. The BJP had initially attempted to build a rapport with the Tipra Motha, but its overtures were rebuffed after the party declared that it would not allow any division of Tripura.

Results will also be declared for a series of by-polls – the Erode (East) seat in Tamil Nadu, Sagardighi in West Bengal, Ramgarh in Jharkhand and Kasba Peth and Chinchwad in Maharashtra.