The Congress has put a spanner in the plans of the BJP to make a clean sweep in the northeastern states which have 25 Lok Sabha seats, as the grand old party is set to bag seven seats including two in violence-hit Manipur.
The BJP is likely to win 13 seats in these states.
In Manipur where the Congress could not open its account in 2019 general elections, its candidates Angomcha Bimol Akoijam and Alfred Kanngam S Arthur have won both Inner Manipur and Outer Manipur seats.
The BJP had won Inner Manipur seat in 2019 while its ally Naga Peoples Front (NPF) had claimed the Outer Manipur seat.
The BJP-ruled state has been in grip of ethnic violence which has claimed over 220 lives since May 2023 with the Congress repeatedly questioning the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who did not visit the state since.
In Assam, both the BJP and the Congress are set to hold their fort with nine and three seats respectively as Maulana Badruddin Ajmal-led AIDUF was completely decimated. NDA allies are leading in two seats — Barpeta and Kokrajhar.
Congress Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, who was forced to change his seat from erstwhile Kaliabor to Jorhat following delimitation, is set to defeat BJP which had won the seat for two consecutive terms. Gogoi is leading over BJP’s Topon Gogoi by over 1.40 lakh votes.
Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal was leading over his nearest rival Lurinjyoti Gogoi, the united opposition candidate, by over 2,75,895 votes in Dibrugarh.
In Dhubri, Ajmal was trailing Congress candidate Rakibul Hussain by over 8,62,905 votes, while NDA ally AGP’s Phani Bhushan Choudhury was leading over his nearest rival Deep Bayan of the Congress by 2.10 lakh votes in Barpeta.
In Nagaland, Congress candidate S Supongmeren Jamir extended his lead over his nearest rival Chumben Murry of the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) by over 48,000 votes in the lone Lok Sabha seat in Nagaland, according to the Election Commission website. The seat was held by BJP-led NDA partner NDPP in 2019.
The BJP held onto Lok Sabha seats in Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura with Union Minister Kiren Rijiju retaining Arunachal West seat for third consecutive term and former Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb winning the Tripura West. Royal family scion Kriti Devi Debbarman will enter Lok Sabha from Tripura East defeating Rajendra Reang of CPI.
BJP’s Tapir Gao won for the third term from Arunachal East seat defeating Congress’ Bosiram Siram.
The Congress wrested the Tura Lok Sabha seat in Meghalaya from the NPP on Tuesday, but lost the Shillong seat after 15 years.
Congress’ Tura candidate Saleng A Sangma defeated sitting NPP MP and sister of Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, Agatha K Sangma by over 1.55 lakh votes. Conrad Sangma is the chief of the NPP, which is a part of the BJP-led NDA.
In Shillong, Voice of the People’s Party (VPP) candidate Ricky AJ Syngkon won by 3,71,910 votes, defeating three-term Congress MP Vincent H Pala.
Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) candidate Richard Vanlalhmangaiha won the lone Lok Sabha seat in Mizoram by 68,288 votes defeating his nearest rival K Vanlalvena of the Mizo National Front.
Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) candidate Indra Hang Subba won the Sikkim Lok Sabha seat defeating his nearest rival Bharat Basnett of the Citizen Action Party (CAP-Sikkim) by 80,830 votes.
The 35-year-old sitting MP polled 1,64,396 votes, while Basnett bagged 83,566. (PTI)
