Day after election verdict, work begins to form govts in Tripura and Nagaland

A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) returned to power in Tripura, outgoing chief minister Manik Saha called on governor Satyadeo Narain Arya and tendered his resignation on Friday.

The speculation over the next chief minister prevailed as Saha did not immediately stake claim to form the next government. A BJP functionary aware of the developments, who did not wish to be named, said Union minister of state for social empowerment and justice Bhoumik, who won the elections from Dhanpur seat, is also in the race for the top post.

“I have tendered my resignation to the governor. He accepted my resignation and also asked me to continue my duties as chief minister till formation of the new government,” Saha told reporters. He added that the BJP will soon visit Raj Bhavan again to stake claim to form the government. Asked about the swearing-in ceremony, Saha said it may be held on March 8. “The schedule for our legislative party meeting will be announced soon,” he said.

In the February 16 elections for the 60-member assembly, the BJP won 32 of the 55 that it contested, while its ally, the Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT), won one seat, taking the tally of the alliance to 33. This is 11 seats fewer than in 2018, when the BJP won 36 on its own, and in a much stronger showing, the IPFT won eight seats.

Saha won his Town Bardowali seat, defeating his Congress rival Asish Kumar Saha by 1,257 votes.

Meanwhile, in Nagaland, the newly elected MLAs of Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) met at the party central office in Kohima and endorsed chief minister Neiphiu Rio as their leader.

The NDPP and its ally, BJP, returned to power on Thursday by winning 37 of the 60 assembly seats. In the elections that were held on February 27, the NDPP had fought from 40 seats, winning 25 of them, and the BJP fought 20 seats, winning 12.

In a statement on Friday, the NDPP said it endorsed Rio as the next chief minister. “The new government is likely to be sworn in on March 7 tentatively,” former chief minister and newly elected NDPP MLA TR Zeliang said. Zeliang also said the NDPP-BJP alliance will form the government and if any other parties wish to come on board, both partners will take a collective decision.