Tripura Elections: BJP+ Dethrone Manik ‘Sarkar’ With 43 Seats
The 60-member Tripura Assembly went to polls on 18 February.
- The BJP has bagged 35 seats in Tripura, while it’s ally, the IPTF, won eight seats.
- The Left Front won 16 seats
- The BJP-IPFT combine scripted history by ending 25 years of uninterrupted rule of the CPI(M)-led Left Front in the state
- Biplab Kumar Deb, the BJP’s Tripura unit president, is touted to be the next CM of the state
- The Congress failed to win even a single seat
Tripura Final Numbers Out
The BJP emerged with a clear majority by bagging 35 seats in Tripura, while its ally, the Indigenous People's Front Of Tripura (IPFT), managed to win eight seats, taking their alliance tally to 43. Incumbent Chief Minister Manik Sarkar-led CPI(M) managed to only grab six seats.
Mamata Banerjee Slams Congress for BJP Win in Tripura
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee slammed the Congress leadership for not agreeing with the pre-poll seat sharing arrangements that she had recommended. She also cited the party's “total negligence” due to which its vote share got reduced to 1.2 percent in Tripura.
If the Congress had fought correctly then they would have won 5 to 6 percent votes at least, and the BJP would have gone down. I’d told Rahul Gandhi that Congress, Trinamool Congress, and the Hill parties should come together for the fight. But they didn’t agree to that. This is total negligence by the Congress, that’s why they’ve been reduced to some 1.2 percent today.Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal
After BJP Wins Tripura, PM Modi and Amit Shah Address Party Workers
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Amit Shah Addresses Press Conference
BJP CM Candidate Biplab Kumar Deb Wins Banamalipur
BJP Wins Agartala
Will Provide Tripura with the Good Government it Deserves: PM Modi
PM Narendra Modi tweeted a congratulatory message after trends indicated a victory to the party in Tripura.
The historic victory in Tripura is as much an ideological one. It is a win for democracy over brute force and intimidation. Today peace and non-violence has prevailed over fear. We will provide Tripura the good government that the state deserves.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 3, 2018
CPI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury Addresses Press Conference
Sitaram Yechury had earlier tweeted regrading the results, thanking the people of Tripura for letting the party serve them for 25 years.
Tripura voters have given their mandate for a BJP-IPTF government in the state. We thank the people of Tripura for giving us the opportunity to serve them for the past 25 years.
— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) March 3, 2018
We will continue to oppose BJP and its divisive agenda not only in Tripura but all over India. (1/n)
It is imperative for those who believe in India's Constitutional ideals to defeat the nefarious designs of the BJP-RSS.
— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) March 3, 2018
The battle is on. (n/n)
CPI(M)'s Badal Choudhury Wins Hrishyamukh
Manik Sarkar Has 3 Places to – Bengal, Kerala, B'desh: Himanta
Outgoing Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar can take shelter in West Bengal, Kerala or neighbouring Bangladesh, as the BJP is going to form the next government in the state, Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday, 3 March.
"Manik Sarkar has just three options before him. He can go to West Bengal, where the CPI-M still has some presence. He can go to Kerala, where the party is in power and will rule for three more years or he can go to neighbouring Bangladesh," Sarma told reporters.
The BJP leader had kicked up a row by reportedly saying that the Tripura chief minister would be sent to Bangladesh after the Assembly elections in the state.
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Historic Win for the BJP: UP CM Yogi Adityanath
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What A Turnaround for the BJP!
#TripuraElection2018 | In the space of one hour, the BJP went from trailing in Tripura and Nagaland to leading in BOTH states. The magic of Indian elections lies in their unpredictability! https://t.co/OhzthjZeKw pic.twitter.com/uUrtERzoWN
— The Quint (@TheQuint) March 3, 2018
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BJP Addresses Press Conference
Ram Madhav addresses press conference as BJP looks set to dethrone Manik Sarkar in Tripura
Posted by The Quint on Friday, March 2, 2018
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Manik Sarkar Leading in Dhanpur
Will Form Government in Tripura, Says Brinda Karat
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Left Leads in 24 Seats
Left Continues Lead
Trends Put Left Front in the Lead
At 8.45 am, the Left front was shown to be leading with 14 seats, with the BJP following close on its heels with 11 seats, reported CNN News18.
Trends Show BJP Lead
BJP is currently leading with ten seats, while the Left front follows with nine seats.
Initial Trends
Minutes into counting day, trends put the BJP and Left Front on par with seven seats each, as per CNN-News 18.
Counting Begins
Counting began amid tight security.
Tripura Witnessed 89.8% Voter Turnout
Fingers are crossed in Tripura as the exit polls failed to present a clear picture on the winners and losers. The election results will be announced on 3 March.
In the 2013 Assembly elections, the ruling Left Front polled 52.32 percent votes while the opposition Congress-Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) combine secured 44.60 percent votes.
89.8 percent of the over 25.73 lakh voters exercised their franchise for the Assembly polls on Sunday, 18 February, in Tripura, where the BJP is trying to dislodge the Left Front after an unbroken 25-year stint in power.
The CPI(M) contested in 57 seats and the other Left Front constituents – the RSP, Forward Bloc and CPI – in one seat each. The BJP forged an alliance with tribal outfit Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT), and fielded 51 candidates. IPFT is contesting in the remaining nine seats. The Congress went solo in Tripura this time and is contesting in 59 seats.
Exit Polls Predictions
NewsX has predicted a victory for the BJP alliance, ending a 25-year run of the Left Front in the state. The TV channel gave the BJP alliance 35-45 seats and said the Left Front will bag 14-23 seats while one seat will be won by others.
On the other hand, Centre for Voting Opinion & Trends in Election Research (CVoter), a Delhi-based agency, hinted at a close fight and predicted that the CPI(M) and Left parties will win in 26-34 seats with 44.3 percent vote share. It predicted the BJP alliance to win in 24-32 seats with a vote share of 42.8 percent and said the Congress might win in two seats with 7.2 percent vote share.
What Local TV Channels Predicted
Kok Tripura, a cable TV channel popular among the tribals, which broadcasts programmes in Kokbarak – the language of more than 10 lakh tribals in the state – predicted that the CPI(M) could win only in 4-7 ST reserved seats while the BJP alliance could win in 13-16 seats.
It said, the Congress, TMC and others would have no presence in the reserved seats.
English newspapers of the region like Tripura Times also point out that last time around, 28 seats were won by the Left with a margin of less than 2,000 votes. A slight swing of votes in these crucial seats can change the political scenario of the state.
DinRaat, a local cable TV channel, predicted the Left Front to secure a minimum of 40 seats and maximum 49 seats and the BJP and IPFT alliance to win in 10-19 seats.
The channel predicted the Left parties to win in 15 out of 20 ST reserved seats.
Headlines Tripura — a local cable TV channel which broadcast the predictions of 'Peoples pulse', a Hyderabad-based agency, said the BJP-IPFT alliance could secure up to 54 percent votes this time. However, it did not predict the number of seats the parties will win.
In the 2013 Assembly elections, the ruling Left Front polled 52.32 percent votes while the Congress-Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) combine secured 44.60 percent votes.