Exits polls predict bjp wins in tripura & nagaland hung assembly in meghalaya

Exits polls predict bjp wins in tripura & nagaland hung assembly in meghalaya

According to NDTV’s Poll of Polls, NPP will emerge as the single largest party in Meghalaya. Tripura voted 16 February while Nagaland and Meghalaya went to polls Monday.

New Delhi: Ruling parties are likely to retain power in Tripura and Nagaland while Meghalaya may have a hung Assembly, exit polls have predicted.

According to NDTV’s Poll of Polls – an average of all exit polls – the BJP is predicted to retain power in Tripura, fending off the challenge from its two rivals, the Congress-Left alliance, and TIPRA Motha of Pradyot Deb Barma. In Tripura, the BJP is predicted to get 35 seats, crossing the halfway mark of 31 in the 60-seat assembly.

Conrad Sangma-led NPP is likely to emerge as the single largest party in Meghalaya with 22 seats in the 60-member assembly. The BJP is likely to improve its tally from two in the last elections to six. The BJP was a part of the NPP-led government but the NPP decided to contest alone this time.

In Nagaland, the ruling BJP-NDPP alliance is predicted to get a comfortable majority, winning 42 seats in the 60-member assembly.

However, these are the scenarios thrown up by exit polls. A final picture will emerge on 2 March when voting will be held.

While voting in Meghalaya and Nagaland took place Monday, Tripura voted on 16 February.

Significant gains for TIPRA Motha

In Tripura, the ruling BJP is predicted to cross the halfway mark comfortably. It is up against the Left Front, which ruled the state for 30 years before they were ousted in the 2018 state polls, in alliance with the Congress. The two together are predicted to win only 12 seats. The TIPRA Motha party floated by former Congress leader Pradyot Deb Burma is predicted to make significant gains with 12 seats.

BJP-NDPP predicted to retain power in Nagaland

In the 60-seat Nagaland assembly, it’s a triangular contest. The BJP and ally Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) — presently in power — are contesting 20 and 40 seats respectively. The alliance is predicted to get a clear majority of 42 seats, according to the NDTV Poll of Polls. Against them are the Congress, which is contesting in 23 seats, and the Naga People’s Front (NPF) which is contesting in 22. The Congress has said that it may consider a post-poll alliance, depending on the numbers. The Poll of Polls shows the Congress winning just one seat and the NPF bagging six.

Hung house in Meghalaya

In the election to 60-seat Meghalaya assembly, four parties are in the electoral fray. The NPP and the BJP, which were running the government together, have now contested separately. The Poll of Polls shows the possibility of a hung assembly with the NPP winning 22 seats on its own. The BJP, on the other hand, is expected to win six seats. Against the NPP and the BJP is the Trinamool Congress (TMC) which became the principal Opposition party in the state overnight in 2021 after Congress leader and former CM Mukul Sangma jumped ship with 12 of the party’s 17 MLAs. With extensive campaigns in the state led by TMC MP and party no. 2 Abhishek Banerjee, the TMC will be looking to win its first state outside of Bengal. The Poll of Polls shows the party bagging 11 seats. A down-and-out Congress, after Sangma’s loss, is fighting the polls on its own and is predicted to win six seats.