Election campaigning in Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Tripura begins on the counting day in 2023

Beginning on Thursday will be the campaign for three northeastern states: Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Tripura. The BJP is hoping to get off to a good start, while the opposition is hoping to topple Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government or, at the very least, cripple it before the larger states vote later this year and most definitely before the Lok Sabha election next year. Meghalaya and Nagaland both had elections on Monday, while Tripura held its poll on Tuesday. There are 60 members in the Assembly, with 31 constituting a majority in each state. Nevertheless, only 59 people per party were allowed to vote in the last two. Elections in Meghalaya's Sohiong were postponed due to the death of a candidate, while Akuluto in Nagaland chose a BJP leader by default after his challenger from the Congress withdrew.Nagaland, In Meghalaya and Nagaland, voting took place mostly without incident, however there was significant violence in Tripura. The turnout was high, at 86% in Nagaland, 87% in Tripura, and 78% in Meghalaya. Several larger states, including the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, Congress-ruled Rajasthan, BJP-ruled Karnataka, Telangana, and Mizoram will also vote this year. However, since the election season starts with these three states, here is what we believe you should know about each before the votes are tallied.

Meghalaya

2018 election: The Congress won 21 seats, but after the election, Conrad Sangma's National People's Party (20 seats) partnered with the BJP (three seats), the United Democratic Party (six seats), and other parties to form the government, dash hopes of a post-election coalition to retain power for a third term.

2023 exit polls

Meghalaya is a challenging state to rule; the All Party Hill Leaders Conference won 32 seats there in 1972, the last time any party achieved a majority on its own. In this nation, coalition governments are typical, and this pattern is anticipated to remain. According to exit polls, Sangma's NPP might win up to 26 seats, and the BJP could win up to 11 seats. With a predicted maximum of just six seats, the Congress is not anticipated to play a significant role in this. The Trinamool Congress of Mamata Banerjee, independent candidates, and those from minor parties are poised to become the kingmakers. The former might receive up to 14 seats.

Nagaland

the 2018 election In a situation resembling that of Meghalaya five years earlier, the Naga People's Front won the most seats with 26, becoming the largest party. But, the BJP (again) and its ally, the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party, who had 30 seats between them and assistance from a few other parliamentarians, dashed their aspirations of taking power. The BJP and the NPF broke off their coalition before the election.

2023 exit polls

Assembly Given that most exit polls predict the BJP-NDPP combination will win a sizable majority of seats—between 35 to a whopping 49 seats, in fact—a hung assembly similar to the one from the previous election is unlikely to occur this time around. According to certain exit polls, the Congress is projected to lose every single seat. Less than a dozen seats will most likely be won by the NPF, a significant decrease from the 2018 vote.

Tripura:  Elections in 2018

2018 was a straightforward victory for the coalition, which was led by the BJP and won 36 seats.

2023 exit polls:

Which way will Tripura swing? Exit polls predict that while the BJP won't cruise to victory as easily as it would in Nagaland, it will still fare better than it did in Meghalaya. In order to attain the magic number of 31, the party-led National Democratic Alliance, which currently includes the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura, is predicted to gain 21 to 45 seats. With pollsters disagreeing on how they may perform, the Congress has united with the Left Front, and the pairing does provide something of a dark horse. They might have a significant impact on how the BJP coalition turns out because they have been allotted a minimum of just six seats and a maximum of 24. The Tipra Motha, which was established by head of the royal family Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barma in 2019 and is given between nine and 17 seats, is the second possible kingmaker in this situation.