BJP retains Nagaland, Tripura; hung verdict in Meghalaya – here’re key points

News Network

March 2, 2023

New Delhi, Mar 2: The BJP and its allies look set to sail through in Tripura and Nagaland, where votes for assembly elections are being counted today. Meghalaya appears set for a hung assembly, with Conrad Sangma's party leading the field.

Here are the Top 10 points in this big story:

The BJP and its ally IPFT (Indigenous Progressive Front of Tripura) are leading on 34 of Tripura's 60 seats. But the score is down by 10 from 2018, when the BJP alone won 36 seats. The IPFT had won 8.

This time the BJP is leading on 28 seats, way below the "tsunami" Chief Minister Manik Saha had predicted. Asked about the matter, Mr Saha said the party will have to introspect" about why the results did not match expectations.

The Left, which ruled the state for 35 years, and its new ally Congress, are leading on 14 seats, down by two.

Erstwhile royal Pradyot Kishore Debbarma's Tipra Motha, which made its debut in this election, is leading on 12 seats. The party, which is pushing for a Greater Tipraland, appears to have grabbed the IPFT's tribal support.

In Meghalaya, Conrad Sangma's National People's Party, which led the ruling alliance with the BJP, contested solo this time and is ahead on 25 of the state's 60 seats. It needs at least five more to reach the majority mark.

The BJP, which is leading on three seats, appears to have the answer, in view of the celebrations that have broken out at the party offices. The two parties had fallen apart ahead of the election over corruption allegations against Mr Sangma's party.

Mr Sangma is apparently in talks for a post-poll alliance -- a meeting with the BJP's northeast pointsperson Himanta Biswa Sarma took place yesterday. The two leaders though, played it down, saying it was a friendly meeting.

"We will wait for the final results and then decide how to go forward, Mr Sangma told reporters.

Meghalaya's new entrant Trinamool Congress is leading on five seats, and defying exit poll predictions, the Congress is leading on five seats.

In Nagaland, the BJP and its partner NDPP (Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party) are leading on 38 seats -- eight more than the last time. The state also has got a woman MLA – a first since Independence.

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Campus politics: DKS pushes to restore student elections in Karnataka banned since 1989

News Network

November 26,2025

Bengaluru, Nov 26: Karnataka is taking its first concrete steps towards lifting a three-decade-old ban on student elections in colleges and universities. Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar announced Wednesday that the state government will form a small committee to study the reintroduction of campus polls, a practice halted in 1989 following incidents of violence.

Speaking at a 'Constitution Day' event organised by the Karnataka Congress, Mr. Shivakumar underscored the move's aim: nurturing new political leadership from the grassroots.

"Recently, (Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha) Rahul Gandhi wrote a letter to me and Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah) asking us to think about restarting student elections," Shivakumar stated. "I'm announcing today that we'll form a small committee and seek a report on this."

Student elections were banned in Karnataka in 1989, largely due to concerns over violence and the infiltration of political party affiliates into campus life. The ban effectively extinguished vibrant student bodies and the pipeline of young leaders they often produced.

Mr. Shivakumar, who also serves as the Karnataka Congress president, said that former student leaders will be consulted to "study the pros and cons" of the re-introduction.

Acknowledging the history of the ban, he added, "There were many criminal activities taking place back then. We’ll see how we can conduct (student) elections by regulating such criminal activities."

The Deputy CM reminisced about his own journey, which began on campus. He recalled his political activism at Sri Jagadguru Renukacharya College leading to his first Assembly ticket in 1985 at the age of 23. "That's how student leadership was at the time. Such leadership has gone today. College elections have stopped," he lamented, adding that for many, college elections were "like a big movement" where leaders were forged.

The move, driven by the Congress high command's push to cultivate young talent, will face scrutiny from academics and university authorities who have, in the past, expressed concern that the return of polls could disrupt the peaceful academic environment and turn campuses into political battlegrounds.

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