BJP Surges Ahead In Early Tripura Leads, Ex Royal’s Party Starts Well

Agartala:

The incumbent BJP has surged ahead in Tripura as early leads start coming in. The BJP, currently ahead in 37 out of 60 seats, appears to be headed for a comfortable win.

The Tipra Motha, led by former royal Pradyot Manikya Debbarma, is leading in seven seats. The tribal-dominated party, which is pushing for a Greater Tipraland, is being seen as an x-factor in these elections.

The Congress-CPM alliance is currently ahead in 16 seats. 

The BJP had clinched 36 seats in the 2018 state polls, unseating the CPM after a 35-year-old rule. Interestingly, the vote share of the Left party was merely 1 per cent less than that of the BJP, but it could seal victory in only 16 seats.

The BJP is contesting in alliance with the tribal party, Indigenous Progressive Front of Tripura, or IPFT. But Chief Minister Manik Saha has said that they will race to majority without needing help from the ally, like last time. The party had also reached out to Tipra Motha, but the talks fell through over the tribal party’s statehood demand. 

The CPM’s move to join forces with the Congress, its rival in several states such as West Bengal and Kerala, appears to be seen as a desperate effort to regain numbers.

Over the past five years, both parties have suffered a massive erosion of support base. The CPM is contesting 47 of the state’s 60 seats, leaving 13 for the Congress.