Tripura stays bright red with fifth consecutive term for Left

NDTV; Edited by Ashish Mukherjee | Updated: February 28, 2013 14:33 IST

New Delhi:  Tripura, Meghalaya, and Nagaland have all voted against change. Results for the three states - with 60 assembly seats each - are being counted now.

Here's your 10-point cheat-sheet to the elections:

1.     Tripura: The CPM is set to sweep the state for a fifth consecutive term. 64-year-old Manik Sarkar will return as chief minister for a fourth term.

2.     Tripura: The Chief Minister of Tripura is seen as a very honest man; he is known to have a bank balance lower than that of any other chief minister in the country.

3.     Tripura: The big complaint against the Left in Tripura has been the high rate of unemployment stemming from the fact that there is no major industry in the state.

4.     Tripura: The Left Front has been in power since 1978, barring one term during 1988 to 1993.

5.     Tripura: In the last election in 2008, the CPM and its allies won 49 of the 60 seats in the Assembly. The Congress and its allies won 11.

6.     Tripura: The state had record voter turnout of 93% for these elections.

7.     Meghalaya: The ruling Congress-led alliance with the United Democratic Party or UDP is set to return to power. Former Lok Sabha speaker PA Sangma, who formed his own party after quitting Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party or NCP, appears to have been routed.

8.     Nagaland: Congress defeated. Neiphiu Rio of the Naga People's Front or NPF appears poised to return as Chief Minister in an election marred by allegations of use of money power. Mr Rio's home minister Imkong L Imchen was among several senior politicians allegedly caught with over a crore of rupees and even arms.

9.     Nagaland: The main election issue was the integration of Naga-dominated regions. A bloody insurgency had raged on the issue for over 30 years, and many people died, till insurgent outfits in the state signed ceasefire agreements with the Centre starting 1996. But no permanent solution has been found yet.

10.   Nagaland: Corruption and the paucity of development were highlighted as concerns by voters. Even basic roads remain on a wishlist for the state.