Nothing Left in Northeast

New Delhi: In a major victory, the Bharatiya Janata Party surged ahead of the Manik Sarkar-led party, putting an end to Left’s 25 years of rule. The party along with ally Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) has won 43 seats in the 60-member House. The Left, meanwhile, is reduced to 18 seats. The Congress, which over the years has played the second fiddle in the state and has been in power twice, has failed to open its account and its candidates are set to lose their deposits.

In Nagaland, the BJP+NDPP alliance has won 29 seats, while the ruling Naga People’s Front (NPF) party is trailing behind with a win of 27 seats. With the backing of JD(U) and an independent candidate, BJP+NDPP alliance is all set to form a government in Nagaland.

In Meghalaya, meanwhile, the mandate is fractured. While the Congress is the largest party with 21 seats, the regional parties have won 17 seats. The National People’s Party (NPP) has won 19 and the BJP has got two seats. The parties have reportedly rushed senior leaders to the state to explore possibilities of alliances in a bid to retain control over the state. 

Earlier in the day, while addressing a press conference in the capital, BJP national chief Amit Shah said the Left is not right for any part of India. "As far as the question of Left is concerned, this has been proved that the Left is not right for any part of the country," Shah said.

Taking a dig at the Left's loss in Tripura he said, "Election analysts in India will have to understand the journey from zero to one (shunya se shikhar tak).