NDA has edge in most of 25 Northeast seats

THE BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is expected to win a majority of the seats in the Northeast when the results of Lok Sabha elections are declared on Tuesday, exit polls indicated.

-  PRASANTA MAZUMDAR

The region has 25 seats - 14 in Assam, two each in Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh and one each in Nagaland, Mizoram and Sikkim. The BJP rules Assam, Arunachal, Tripura and Manipur and is a component of ruling coalitions in Nagaland and Meghalaya.

In 2019, the NDA bagged 19 seats 14 by BJP and 5 by its allies. The Congress had won four seats. Two seats went to others.

The Northeast went to polls amidst the ethnic conflict between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo tribals in Manipur. There was simmering anger among the voters in the state against the BJP over how it handled the situation. The NDA faced a challenge, particularly in the Meitei-majority Inner Manipur seat which the BJP contested.