BJP to form new government in Tripura for second straight term

Agartala: The BJP is all set to form a new government in Tripura for the second straight term. The BJP-IPFT alliance won 32 seats, one more than the magic figure of 31 in the 60-member state assembly, for which elections were held on February 16.

According to the results declared by the Election Commission yesterday, Tipra Motha Party (TMP), which for the first time contested 42 seats on its own, emerged as the second largest party securing 13 seats. The CPI-M won 11 seats while the Congress bagged three.

The CPI-M led Left Front, which contested the elections in a



seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress, had fielded 47 candidates while 13 seats were allotted to the Congress.

BJP ally Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) won the Jolaibari seat in southern Tripura.

Trinamool Congress, which carried out a high-voltage campaign in Tripura in the run-up to the elections, failed to open its account in the state.

Most of the top BJP leaders, including Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha, his cabinet colleague Ratan Lal Nath and Union minister Pratima Bhowmik, were re-elected.