Guwahati, March 7
The ruling Left Front led by Chief Minister Manik Sarkar has retained power in Tripura for the fourth time in a row with a facile win over the Congress-led alliance while voters in Meghalaya have given a hung verdict with the ruling Congress emerging as the single largest party.
The Opposition alliance of Congress and Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) was made to bite the dust with the ruling Left Front, which contested polls on the plank of development and stability, securing three-fourth majority in the 60-member Tripura Assembly as per the poll results, announced today.
The Left Front comprising the CPM, the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and the CPI won 49 Assembly constituencies against only 11 won by the Congress (10) and its ally INPT (1). The CPM emerged winner in 46 seats. The RSP won two seats and CPI one.
Altogether the Left Front won eight seats more than what it had won in the last Assembly election held in 2003. Manik Sarkar is all set to become the Chief Minister of the Northeast hill state for the third consecutive term with the Left Front receiving the overwhelming mandate of the people.
The INPT lost five of the seats it had won in the last elections as the tribal population in the state opted to support the Left Front this election so that they can get their due share in the power. The INTP’s consolation victory came when its president Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhwal scraped through by 115 votes in Hrishyamukh
constituency.
The Congress won 10 seats compared to 13 it had won in the previous elections. Prominent losers among the Congress candidates included former Tripura chief minister and state PCC chief Samir Ranjan Burman (Bishalgarh) and Rajmata Bibhu Kumari Devi (South Tripura).
Chief Minister Manik Sarkar (CPM) romped home from Dhanpur constituency defeating his nearest rival by 2,900 votes. The Left Front had captured power in 1993 and won the two subsequent elections in 1998 and 2003. In the current elections, one of its allies the Forward Bloc had broken away following differences on seat sharing. However, the Forward Bloc was routed in all 12 seats it contested on its own this time.
Meanwhile in Meghalaya, the ruling Congress emerged as the single largest party where the Assembly elections resulted in a hung Assembly. Elections were held to 59 seats out of the total 60 Assembly seats in the state. Polling for Baghmara constituency was postponed to March 22 following the death of Congress contestant Sengran M. Sangma.
The veteran P.A. Sangma’s much vaunted return to the state politics failed to cut any ice to Meghalaya voters as his party Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) had to remain content with as many seats as it had won in the last Assembly elections.
The Congress won 25 seats while its archrival NCP won 14 seats. The regional United Democratic Party (UDP) which was a partner in the last Congress-led coalition government won 11 seats, Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP) won two seats, Khun Hynnewtrap National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) won one seat, BJP won one seat and Independents won five seats.
The Congress contested the election sans any alliance this time after having headed the outgoing Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government.
Chief Minister D.D. Lapang of the Congress retained the Nongpoh seat. Deputy chief minister and UDP nominee Donkupar Roy won the Shella seat while another deputy chief minister and Congress contestant Mukul Sangma romped home from Ampatgiri constituency.
