NEW DELHI: Congress’s Ravindra Dhangekar won the by-elections in Maharashtra’s Kasba Peth today, beating BJP candidate Hemant Rasane by over 12,000 votes.
NDPP’s Hekani Jakhalu became the first woman to ever be elected to the Nagaland Legislative Assembly. She won from Dimapur. NDPP’s S Keoshu Yimchunger defeated nearest rival R Tohanba of Lok Janshakti Party(Ram Vilas) by a margin of 2,295 votes. BJP’s P. Bashangmongba Chang defeats Toyang Chang of the Congress by over 5,644 votes. The BJP is a part of an alliance with NDPP.
In Tripura,Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura’s Sukla Charan Noatia defeated nearest rival, CPM’s Debendra Tripura, by 375 votes.
NPP’s candidate Sniawbhalang Dhar defeated Congress’s Emlang Laloo by 2,123 votes in Nartiang. In Raliang, NPP’s Coming One Ymbon defeated nearest rival Lakhon Biam by over 5,000 votes.
The BJP will hugely expand its footprint in the northeast, posting victory in Tripura and Nagaland and winning a bigger share of seats in Meghalaya in the latest round of assembly elections, exit polls have predicted. An aggregate of exit polls showed the BJP’s alliance government will come to power in Nagaland with ally NDPP (Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party), and win at least seven seats in Meghalaya — up from two.
Exit polls also indicate the Congress could be heading for its biggest setback in the northeast, winning only one seat in Nagaland, and six in Meghalaya, where it was the single-largest party last time.
The voting on 178 seats across the three states was held on February 16 and 27 marking the first round of polls in an electorally-crucial year.