Tripura election result 2018: Saffron flag flutters in Red fort

Scripting history,  Tripura on Saturday  put  an end to 25 years of  Left  reign and donned  a saffron cap for the first time.

At the time of going to the press, the  BJP had captured 23 seats, while its alliance partner, the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), bagged 7 seats, giving the combine a majority in the House, according to Election Commision (EC) sources.  The BJP is leading in another 12 constituencies and the IPFT in one.

The elections in 59 seats in the 60-member Assembly were held on February 18. Polling was countermanded in one seat due to the death of a CPM candidate.

The saffron party inflicted a humiliating defeat on the CPM, which had never faced such a situation even when it had lost power in 1988 to the Congress-Tripura Upajati Juba Samity combine.

The BJP's emergence came as a surprise to many as the party  did not even have a councillor in Tripura.  It had secured less than  2% votes in the 2013 Assembly election in the state.

According to an EC source, the BJP, which contested in 51 seats in Tripura, has secured over 42% of the votes.

IPFT, which fielded candidates in nine seats, got nearly 8% votes.

While the BJP leadership in the state has said that the task of choosing the chief minister  belongs to the parliamentary board,  all eyes are already on the 48-year-old state president Biplab Kumar Deb.

Deb is  regarded by the central leadership as a leader who can deliver and may be Prime Minister Narendra Modi's choice as chief minister.

There is also the opinion that the saffron party, given  that Tripura has not had a tribal chief minister in 25 years, may go with Rampada Jamatia.

On the other hand, the CPM-led Left Front, which had captured 50 of the 60 seats in the 2013 Assembly polls, is expected to secure nearly 44% this time, the EC source said.

The last time the CPM lost was in 1988, to the  Congress-Tripura Upajati Juba Samity combine.  Even then, the jolt of the defeat was far less, as the red party had lost only by one seat.

The Congress is not expected win a single seat in the elections. Its vote share is likely to dip to slightly over 2%, the EC source said.

BJP leader Ram Madhav said that the people in the state have voted for a change.

"They have supported our slogan for change," he said, adding that the CPM gave a "spirited fight".

BJP in-charge in Tripura and Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "People were fed up with the Manik Sarkar government, which has been ruling the state for more than two decades and wanted to get rid of the CPM rule."

He also said the BJP's alliance with the  the tribal-dominated IPFT helped its chances in the state.

"Tribal votes in Tripura are around 35% and they voted for the BJP lock, stock and barrel," he said.

Sarma also dismissed the suggestion that the minorities, particularly the Christians in the North-east, were against the BJP, saying the community "wholeheartedly" supported the party.

Speaking about  the poll outcome, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said, "Tripura voters have given their mandate for a BJP-IPFT government in the state. We thank the people of Tripura for giving us the opportunity to serve them for the past 25 years."

He said  the CPM  will continue to oppose the BJP and its "divisive agenda" not only in Tripura but throughout the country.

He  said that the BJP has used both "money and muscle power in Tripura".