Left sweeps Tripura, Meghalaya hung

The Left Front in Tripura swept the Assembly elections for the fourth successive term while Meghalaya, typical of its political history, got a hung House after results were declared, reports Rahul Karmakar and Syed Sajjad Ali.

The Left Front in Tripura swept the Assembly elections for the fourth successive term while Meghalaya, typical of its political history, got a hung House after results were declared on Friday. Nagaland will know its poll results on Saturday.

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The CPM and its allies won 49 of the 60 seats in Tripura, eight more than in 2003. The Congress and its ally, the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra, could manage only 11, down from 19 in the previous election.

The Forward Bloc made an exit from the left front over seat sharing when it failed to use pressure tactics after its 12 nominees lost. Candidates of smaller parties and independents lost their security deposit.

While Chief Minister Manik Sarkar will take fresh guard by Monday, the fractured verdict in Meghalaya could delay the formation of the new government.

In Meghalaya, the Congress bagged 25 in the 60-seat House, six less than the magic number. Election to one seat has been deferred to March 22. The NCP, which relied heavily on Purno A Sangma's charisma, ended with 14 seats, while the regional United Democratic Party improved its past performance to win 11 seats.