BJP, allies to retain Tripura & Nagaland, close contest in Meghalaya: Exit polls

New Delhi, February 27

The ruling BJP alliance is set to retain governments in Tripura and Nagaland while the contest in Meghalaya is signalling a hung Assembly, the exit poll results indicated on Monday.

All three states have 60-member Assemblies with 31 as the majority mark.

Polling peaceful

Polling went off peacefully across 3,419 polling stations in Meghalaya and 2,291 in Nagaland. There was no demand for repoll from any of the 5,710 polling stations. EC

Meghalaya Turnout 76%

Nagaland Turnout 84%

The aggregate of four exit polls — India Today-Axis My India; Times Now-ETG Research; Zee News-Matrize and Jan ki Baat — predicted a comfortable majority of 32 for the ruling BJP and Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) in Tripura; and 42 for the ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and the BJP in Nagaland, indicating that the saffron party will further expand its North-East footprint.

In Meghalaya, CM Conrad Sangma-led National People’s Party (NPP) appears on course to be the single largest with about 20 seats, but way off the majority mark. The exit polls indicate 6 seats for the BJP in Meghalaya, up from 2 in 2018; and a massive setback for the Congress, which is expected to win 6 seats. It won 21 last time, emerging as the single largest party.

A common takeaway from all exit polls is the rout of the Congress in these northeastern states with the party winning just 1 seat in Nagaland and none in Tripura. The polls indicate that the Left Front which ruled the state for 25 years will be restricted to 15 seats. The Left and Congress contested together this time. Tipra Motha, the new party led by erstwhile royal Pradyot Deb Barma in Tripura, is projected to clock double digits in the final results which will be out on March 2.

The exit poll results, if accurate, could mean a massive boost for the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of elections in Karnataka, Telangana, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram.

The Congress’ continuing decline, close on the heels of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, would give the BJP the extra confidence in the Hindi heartland — Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and MP — where it faces the Congress directly.

In Meghalaya, the NPP could tilt towards the BJP having worked with it in the outgoing government. The BJP and NPP had contested separately in 2018 Meghalaya elections also. Even at that time the NPP instead of allying with the single largest Congress, chose to get into a post-poll pact with the BJP and other partners to form a ruling coalition.

In the North-East, the tendency of regional forces has historically been to go with the party that rules in the Centre.