Tripura Votes, BJP Looks To Retain Power In Multi-Cornered Fight: 10 Facts

Visuals from polling booths showed long queues as voters from all age groups set out to cast their vote. Polling authorities said a clash between supporters of the Left and the BJP had left a person injured. A case has been registered and the injured personal has been hospitalised, the authorities said. 

Several Twitter handles, including the official state Congress unit, tagged the state electoral officer and tweeted that voters were being stopped from reaching the polling booths in several Assembly segments. The polling authorities responded that the complaints had been forwarded to officials concerned.   

All key leaders of the state expressed confidence about a good show by their respective parties. Chief Minister Manik Saha said he was positive about the results. Tipra Motha leader Pradyot Manikya Debbarma, whose party is being seen as the X-factor in this election, said he was sure of a good show. 

For more than 30 years, Tripura was ruled by the CPM till the upset in 2018, when the BJP won 36 of the 60 seats in a state where it practically had no presence. Though the score pushed the BJP well above the majority mark of 31, it still formed alliance with regional IPFT (Indigenous Progressive Front of Tripura) - which got eight seats -- as insurance against any defection by its MLAs.

The CPM, which ruled Tripura for 35 years, has joined forces with the Congress this time, and its campaign is being led by its four-time Chief Minister Manik Sarkar. The Left Front will contest 47 of the state's 60 seats, leaving just 13 seats for the Congress.

While the CPM won 16 seats in 2018, the Congress - main opposition in the previous assembly -- drew a blank. The CPM is hoping that their alliance will help add votes in around 13 seats. But the alliance has raised eyebrows among the Kerala units of both parties where they have been sworn enemies for decades.

The Tipra Motha - the new party formed by former royal Pradyot Kishore Debbarma with a core demand of Greater Tipraland -- might queer the pitch for the BJP. While the BJP has the local party IPFT in its corner, its hold on some seats have loosened over the last five years. In 2021, IPFT was wiped out in the Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council polls and had to accept only five seats to contest in this election.

The BJP had initially attempted to build a rapport with the Tipra Motha, but its overtures were met with rebuff. After the BJP declared that it would not allow any division of Tripura, the Tipra Motha also hardened its stand, flinging Union minister Amit Shah's allegation of its being the "B Team of CPM-Congress" back at the BJP.

"The BJP is a B-Team in Nagaland. In Meghalaya, Shillong and Garo Hills, they are a B-Team of some other party. You're a B-Team of another party in Mizoram. In Tamil Nadu, you are the B-Team of the AIADMK. In Punjab, you are the B-Team of the Akali Dal. BJP is the B-team of many parties in India. Tipra Motha does not bow down or compromise," said Mr Debbarma, whose party is contesting on 42 seats.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the BJP's pointsperson in the northeast, has predicted a hugely improved performance by the party in all three northeastern states that are going to polls in this round. Elections are due in Meghalaya and Nagaland on February 27. Counting of votes will be held on March 2.