In Manipur, BJP makes history with simple majority for the first time | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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In Manipur, BJP makes history with simple majority for the first time

ByAbhishek Jha
Mar 11, 2022 01:02 AM IST

Most of BJP’s gains have come at the cost of the Congress, which has finished fourth in terms of seat share, below the BJP, the NPEP and the Janata Dal (United)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was leading in 32 of 60 seats in Manipur at 9pm on March 10. If these trends hold, the BJP would have won a majority of seats in an assembly election in Manipur for the first time. It will also make Manipur the third state – the other two being Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura -- in the north-east where the BJP has a majority of its own. To be sure, the BJP has four chief ministers in the North-East if one includes the state of Assam, where the BJP-led alliance won a big majority in the 2021 elections.

Manipur CM N Biren Singh and Manipur BJP chief A Sharda Devi dance after the party's victory in Assembly polls, in Imphal, Thursday. (PTI)
Manipur CM N Biren Singh and Manipur BJP chief A Sharda Devi dance after the party's victory in Assembly polls, in Imphal, Thursday. (PTI)

The BJP’s victory in Manipur is partial vindication of the strategy it followed in the current election. Despite being in government with the Naga Peoples Front (NPF) and the National People’s Party (NPEP), the BJP chose to contest the election on its own. If the objective was to just become independent of these parties in the state, the BJP has been successful. However, if the objective was to capture the space held by the regional parties, the BJP has not been successful. Both the NPF and the NPEP have held on to their seat share and also increased their contested vote share. In the 20 seat hills sub-region, where the NPF and NPEP are stronger, the BJP has increased its seat tally by just two seats: from five to seven.

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How has the BJP improved its performance then? Most of BJP’s gains have come at the cost of the Congress, which has finished fourth in terms of seat share, below the BJP, the NPEP and the Janata Dal (United).And if this was the objective of the BJP all along, then its decision to go it alone can be termed a spectacular success.

The Congress had been under-confident about the contest in Manipur even prior to the election. The party did not contest seven seats, six of them located in the Hills sub-region, where the NPF and NPEP are more popular. It has not won any seats in the sub-region. The seats not won by the BJP, NPF, or NPEP in this region have been won by the JD(U), Kuki People’s Alliance, and independents. In the 40- seat plains region, where the BJP has gained most of its seats, the Congress has been reduced from 19 seats in 2017 to five seats in 2022.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Abhishek Jha is a data journalist. He analyses public data for finding news, with a focus on the environment, Indian politics and economy, and Covid-19.

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