There may be plenty of individual surprises in the assembly election results from three Northeast Indian states, with several upsets. There are, however, no apparent jaw-droppers so far as the larger political picture is concerned.
In Meghalaya, the ruling National People’s Party has emerged comfortably as the single largest, as expected. Although it contested the polls on its own, its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party is already back in place, with the BJP formally issuing a letter of support for the formation of the next government in the state. In Nagaland, the National Democratic Progressive Party and BJP alliance has secured a majority, which is also entirely along expected lines. In Tripura, the BJP has overcome the combined challenge of the Congress and Left – and even this is not really a surprise.
