The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) alliance emerged victorious in the Tripura assembly elections. The two parties have secured a combined total of 33 seats. More than the 31 seats are needed to cross the majority mark in the 60-seat Tripura State Legislative Assembly. The final result by the Election Commission are here.

Despite the pre-poll alliance between the Left Front, led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and the Congress, the BJP has managed to keep its hold in Tripura.

The newcomer TIPRA Motha, which was hoping to secure all 20 Scheduled Caste reserved seats in the state, emerged as the second/third largest party with 13 seats. It is yet to be seen if TIPRA Motha joins the BJP and IPFT to form the government.

The major sticking point has been the TIPRA Motha's demand for written assurances for the creation of Greater Tipraland – a separate state for the Tipra people. The party had contested 42 seats, choosing to not to field candidates in key constituencies.

The Left Front and Congress had together fought on all 60 seats, with the CPI(M) standing in 43 seats, Congress in 13 seats, the Communist Party of India in 1 seat, the Revolutionary Socialist Party in 1 seat, the All India Forward Bloc in 1 seat and an independent. While the alliance had not made any official announcement, former MP and CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury was seen as the front-runner for the post.

The BJP had contested 54 seats with IPFT fighting in the remaining 6. While Chief Minister Manik Saha is expected to return to the top post, some political pundits are expecting the party to announce Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Pratima Bhowmik as the next Chief Minister.

First Published:Mar 2, 2023 2:59 PM IST