Morung Express News Dimapur | February 28 The BJP is set to make a major mark in the North East’s political landscape, if the latest exit polls are to be believed. Polling in Left-ruled Tripura took place on February 18, while Congress bastion Meghalaya and NPF ruled Nagaland went to polls on February 27. The exit poll results, which were released on Tuesday evening, have suggested an unprecedented political situation in the North-East. The BJP is already ruling, along with allies, in Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and Assam. The exit poll results show BJP and its allies may be able to form governments in Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya as well. This means for the first time, the BJP may rule in six out of seven north-east states. Two exit polls conducted after the Nagaland State Assembly elections on February 27 predict that the newly formed alliance between the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and the BJP would form a majority on its own. The exit poll conducted by JanKiBaat-NewsX predicts that the NDPP-BJP alliance will secure 27 seats, while the one conducted by CVoter predict that the alliance will gain victories in 25 seats. For the incumbent Naga People’s Front (NPF), the JanKiBaat-NewsX exit poll gives it 20 seats, while the CVoter exit poll predicts that the regional party will secure 18 seats. Both surveys meanwhile show a dismal performance from the Congress, with neither giving the party a single seat win in the state. The exit polls also predicted that the BJP will dethrone the Left Front in Tripura. JanKiBaat-NewsX has predicted that the BJP-IPFT alliance in Tripura will win 35-45 seats with a vote share of 51%. The AxisMyIndia poll predicts 44-50 seats for the BJP-IPFT with a vote share of 49% while others may get 0-3 seats with a vote share of 11%. The NewsX poll predicted the ruling Left front in Tripura was likely to get 14-23 seats with vote share of 45-46%, while AxisMyIndia poll predicted the Left would win 9-15 seats with a vote share of 40%. The CVoter Exit Poll has predicted a close finish in Tripura, with the CPI-M likely to get 26 to 34 seats with 44.3% vote share, the BJP and its allies 24 to 32 seats with a vote share of 42.8%, while the Congress may win only 0-2 seats with a vote share of 7.2%. Meanwhile, in Meghalaya where the Congress is in power, the JanKiBaat-NewsX exit poll shows that the National People’s Party (NPP) is set to gain 23-27 seats while the BJP will get 8-12 seats, with vote shares of 39 and 12% respectively. The Congress is predicted to win 13-17 seats with a vote share of 21% and others are likely to get 2 to 6 seats. All three states have 60 members each in their respective Legislative Assemblies. A party needs 31 seats to form a government in these states. Counting of votes for Meghalaya, Tripura, Nagaland elections will take place on March 3. (With Agency Inputs)
