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People in Meghalaya and Nagaland are voting in the assembly elections today. The assembly election in Left Front-ruled Tripura was held on February 18. Counting of votes in all the three states in the north-east is on March 3. The model code of conduct is in force in the three states since January 19. All the three states have 60 seats each in their assembly. Tripura voted for 59 seats on Sunday last as voting in Charilam was postponed to March 12 after the death of CPI(M) candidate Ramendra Narayan Debbarma. The Congress is in power in Meghalaya, the Left Front is running Tripura and the Naga People's Front in alliance with the BJP is in charge in Nagaland. BJP leaders have been the north-east in recent times to firm up election plans. The Congress is also looking to strengthen its presence in the region, which the BJP has been taking inch by inch with the victories in Assam and Manipur in the last two years.
Here are the updates of the assembly elections in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland:
For the first time, 67 all-women polling stations and 61 model polling stations have been set up in Meghalaya.
#ITBP troops at different polling booths in #Meghalaya#meghalayaelections2018 pic.twitter.com/zsLNBcvuVz
- ITBP (@ITBP_official) February 27, 2018
16 per cent voters turned up in Meghalaya till 9 am
Nagaland saw 17 per cent voter turnout
One person injured in a bomb blast in a polling station Mon District's Tizit in Nagaland: news agency ANI
A look at rich candidates in Nagaland this election
I urge the people of Meghalaya and Nagaland to vote in large numbers in the Assembly Elections taking place today.
- Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 27, 2018
PM Narendra Modi tweeted this morning and asked voters in Meghalaya and Nagaland to come out in large numbers.
Polling began in Meghalaya and Nagaland at 7 am. Long queues of voters were seen outside the polling booths this morning.
Election Commission engineers will be present at all booths in Nagaland where re-polling will be held. One company of central security forces would be deployed for each booth to prevent any untoward incident.
Re-polling will be held in six booths in six assembly constituencies in Tripura today. Web-casting will be carried out in six polling booths to ensure zero interference during the election.
The election campaign in Meghalaya and Nagaland, during which barbs flew thick and fast among parties, ended on Sunday. Voting in the two states, both having 60-member assemblies, will take place on Tuesday. The results will be declared on March 3 along with that of Tripura, where elections were held on February 18.
In Nagaland, the Congress had nominated 23 contenders for the February 27 polls. However, the actual number of its candidates in fray is 18 after five of its contenders withdrew nominations. The Nagaland Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and the BJP are contesting the election in alliance.
The Congress is in unofficial talks with the Naga People's Front (NPF) for a post-poll pact in a bid to keep the BJP-NDPP out of power in Nagaland, sources said: news agency PTI.
Sangma vs Sangma In Meghalaya But They See BJP As Common ThreatIn Meghalaya, the big election battle is Sangma versus Sangma - two families that dominate state politics and are, in a way, also trying to keep the BJP at a distance from their territory.
Nagaland Needs Strong And Stable Government, Says PM ModiPrime Minister Narendra Modi today said a BJP-NDPP government in Nagaland would plug the loopholes causing wastage of public money and work towards improving road connectivity in the state."
Meghalaya needs double engine - one from Meghalaya, another from Delhi: PM Modi
- The current government has wasted your 50 years. I urge you to provide us with one opportunity for five years
- Today the world is appreciating India, the reason behind this is not Modi but you, the people
- Meghalaya needs double engine - one from Meghalaya, another from Delhi. If both the engines come to work together, all the work which had been halted for 50 years will begin at once
- What is the reason that even if Crores of rupees are released by Delhi for roads, there are no roads to be seen in Meghalaya?
Shri @Ramlal felicitating all the senior members of BJP who have served the party for over 25 years, starting with Shri Ram Sewekji. pic.twitter.com/RAUywA2IAW
- BJP Meghalaya (@BJP4Meghalaya) February 22, 2018
Highlights of PM Modi's address:
- Can see the picture of "Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat" in front of me here in Tuensang: PM Modi
- By coming to this rally in large numbers, you have given a fitting reply to those who play vote bank politics and divide the society
- Talented people of Nagaland, be it in the field of sports, art, culture, music, have always enhanced the value of the country
- India's development is not possible without the development of the north-east
- There is a need for a strong and stable government in Nagaland which will work for the development of the state
- The NDA Government is giving special priority to the north-east. We are making efforts to further prosperity in the north-east
- When a party makes an honest attempt to take everyone along with the agenda of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas", only then people come out in large numbers, like you have
- In the past few years this state has seen political instability, the cabinet was reshuffled four times in four years. We want to give a stable government for faster development
Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Tuensang rally in Nagaland.
Ahead Of Meghalaya Polls, Rahul Gandhi's Strong Pitch In Congress BastionAhead of next week's assembly elections in Meghalaya, Congress president Rahul Gandhi returned to the state for the second spell of his campaign, dedicating one day for the Garo hills.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address election rallies in Nagaland as well in Meghalaya today to give a push to BJP's victory prospect in the two poll-bound North-Eastern states.
Jonathone Sangma, along with his personal security officer and two NCP party workers, was killed at Williamnagar on Sunday night after an Improvised Explosive Device went off near his convoy in East Garo Hills district. His death has sent shock waves across the state.
NCP Demands NIA Probe Into Killing Of Party Candidate Jonathone SangmaThe NCP on Monday demanded that the probe into the killing of Jonathone N Sangma, its candidate for the Meghalaya assembly poll, be handed over to the NIA.
State Election Office registered 45.9 percent voter turnout till 1 pm.
The voter turnout in Tripura till 11 am is 23.2 percent, according to State Election Office
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar at a polling booth in Agartala where he cast his vote. He is a legislator from the Dhanpur constituency.
Good morning #Tripura.
- Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) February 18, 2018
I request all to cast their votes and strengthen the spirit of #democracy. Each one of you is important and must exercise your rights.
13 percent polling was registered in Tripura till 8:30 am. Barring few minor issues with EVMs, polls are being conducted peacefully across the state, say election official.
#TripuraElection2018: People queue to cast their votes at polling booth number 31/34 in Tripura's Udaipur, say, 'we want a government that can push for development in the state.' pic.twitter.com/oeck7Eg76e
- ANI (@ANI) February 18, 2018
A total of 292 candidates are in the fray in 59 assembly segments in Tripura
59 of 60 constituencies go to polls in #Tripura. A look at the key candidates
- NDTV (@ndtv) February 18, 2018
Track LIVE updates: https://t.co/TqOSNbN4Wp#ElectionsWithNDTV pic.twitter.com/ZuEAYK6gS0
Some 25 lakh voters will exercise their franchise today
I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Tripura, particularly young voters, to turnout in record numbers and cast their vote in the Assembly Elections.
- Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 18, 2018
Voting in Left-ruled Tripura began at 7am today with voters queuing up outside polling booths across the state.
Himanta Biswa Sarma, A Congress Rebel, Now BJP's Key Strategist In NortheastHimanta Biswa Sarma is the current finance minister of Assam and BJP's north-east chief strategist who has been entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring BJP's victory in the upcoming assembly elections in Nagaland, Tripura, Meghalaya with the help of allies."
At Poll Rally, Amit Shah Promises To Make Meghalaya A Model StateBJP President Amit Shah on Friday promised to make Meghalaya a model state within five years, if his party is voted to power in the February 27 assembly elections."
Congress doesn't make false promises like BJP: Rahul Gandhi
Rahul Gandhi today appealed to the people of Tripura to vote for the Congress to bring good governance, saying unlike the BJP, his party does not make false promises.
"What the Congress pledges, it implements them. It does not make any false promise of something it cannot implement. If we come to power, we would implement what we have pledged," he said.
As the formal campaigning comes to an end, I have left Tripura for my home. The love & affection that I received from people will remain with me forever. @BJP4India will do everything possible to make #Tripura as one of the best states of India. I will cherish the memory forever! pic.twitter.com/8fqoB1GOYF
- Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) February 16, 2018
NDPP-BJP alliance to get absolute majority in Nagaland: Rio
Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party's (NDPP) Chief Ministerial candidate Neiphiu Rio on Thursday voiced confidence that the NDPP-BJP alliance will come to power with absolute majority in Nagaland.
Although the BJP had been in alliance with the Nagaland People's Front (NPF) for the last 15 years, it favoured the newly-floated NDPP as it had lost confidence in leadership of Chief Minister T R. Zeliang whose tenure was "riddled with massive corruption, instability, misgovernance, propaganda and lies", said Mr Rio, who has already being elected to the assembly without contest.
"Leadership should be visionary, strong and should keep its commitment with the people. His (Zeliang) leadership is without vision, and he leads from behind instead of from the front," he said, while addressing a series of election rallies in Peren district ahead of the February 27 assembly elections.
In Tripura, the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and its rivals, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and Trinamool Congress, have been organising road shows and poll campaigns using vehicles colourfully decorated with flowers, balloons, party flags and festoons, news agency IANS reported.
Each party has unleashed hundreds of small vehicles that traverse all the small lanes and bylanes in every human habitation across the state, blaring out songs, satirical rhymes hitting out at opponents, poems in praise of the party, and also list out the electoral promises, from loudspeakers fitted to CD players.
"In Tripura, patriotic, folk and modern songs, street plays, rhymes and poems are used as a vital campaign mode in electoral battles," renowned political analyst Salil Debbarma told IANS.
Tripura Sanskriti Samannay Kendra (TSSK), the literary and cultural front of the ruling CPI-M, has composed a set of songs, including in folk style, criticising the BJP for its "failure" across the country and over its electoral pact with the tribal-based Indigenous People's Front of Tripura.
Tripura Assembly Polls Likely To Test CPM's New Political LineAhead of Sunday's assembly polls, the BJP's social media war room in Agartala is buzzing with activity. Among the volunteers busy tweeting and promoting the party's slogan "Chalo Paltai" (Let's bring change) are young people who had Left leanings in the past."
Ahead Of Tripura Polls, Demand For Separate State Remains A Raw NerveThe IPFT has long demanded the creation of a separate Tripuraland state to include the areas that come under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council. Tribals make up about 32 per cent of the state's population.
To counter the BJP's poll war cry of 'Chalo Paltai' or 'let's bring change' ahead of the February 18 assembly elections in Tripura, the CPM is using the BJP's alliance with the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) as a main plank.
Nagaland Assembly Elections 2018: After 54 Years Of Statehood, Nagaland Yet To Elect Woman To AssemblyAwan Konyak of the newly-formed Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) is fighting the election from Aboi seat and Rekha Rose Dukru is an Independent candidate from Chizami constituency. The ruling Naga People's Front (NPF), however, has not fielded any women candidates this time.
Of the 195 candidates vying for a seat in the 60-member Assembly this time in Nagaland, five are women.While Wedie-u Kronu and Mangyangpula are contesting the polls on National People's Party (NPP) tickets from Dimapur-III and Noksen Assembly constituencies, Rakhila is a BJP nominee from Tuensang Sadar-II seat.
Nagaland Chief Minister TR Zeliang exuded confidence that the NPF will return to power and said the party has not shut doors to the BJP to return into the partnership after February 27 elections. He, however, ruled out any possibility of alliance with the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) even in the case of a hung Assembly.
A total of 372 candidates are in the fray for the February 27 Meghalaya assembly elections after three of them withdrew their documents on the last date of withdrawal of nomination, Chief Electoral Officer Frederick R Kharkongor said. He said the total number of candidates in the Meghalaya assemble elections is now 372 out of the 375 whose nominations were cleared during scrutiny.
In Nagaland, where nine out of 10 people are Christian, political parties are racing to offer the devout a sop they can't refuse. The Congress has already gone and done it in its manifesto on Monday. The BJP suggested the idea in a recent vision document and is likely to make a better offer tomorrow when it is set for release. The offer - a visit to the holiest of holy lands for the faithful, Jerusalem.
The Left Front led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M) has been in power in Tripura since 1993. It is seen as the strongest bastion of the Left in the country with Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, 68, completing his fourth term. This time, the BJP is eyeing the state and has got a boost after six Trinamool Congress and one Congress legislator joined the party. The BJP is also trying to form an alliance with regional parties to consolidate anti-Left votes.
In Nagaland's 60-member assembly, the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland is in power led by the Naga People's Front and supported by the BJP. The BJP is trying to make inroads into the state with Congress losing ground as the main opposition party. Internal troubles in the Naga People's Front might end up helping the BJP though. Former Nagaland Chief Minister and Lok Sabha parliamentarian Neiphiu Rio has formed a new political party, breaking ties with the NPF, and may even join hands with BJP.
Electronic voting machines (EVMs) and voter-verifiable paper trail (VVPAT) will be used in the assembly elections in Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland, Chief Election Commissioner AK Joti had said. He said election officials have made good efforts to assure basic facilities and arrangements for people with special needs to help them vote. Voter assistance desk will be set up at every polling station, Mr Joti said.
