Battle For North East: Assembly Polls Announced In Meghalaya, Tripura And Nagaland

The Election Commission of India on Thursday (18 January) announced the schedule for assembly elections in North-Eastern states of Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland. The three states are among the eight in the country that will go to polls this year.

Tripura will vote on 18 February, while Meghalaya and Nagaland go to polls on 27 February, the Indian Express reported. The counting of votes in all states will be on 3 March with the results being declared the same day.

Voter verifiable paper audit trail machines will be deployed in all three states along with electronic voting machines for the first time for the polls, Chief Election Commissioner A K Joti said in New Delhi.

The terms of Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura assemblies end on 6 March, 13 March and 14 March respectively. The strength of each assembly is 60.

Currently, the Congress is in power in Meghalaya, while Communist Party of India (Marxist) rules Tripura. The elections are crucial for both parties in these two states, where the Bharatiya Janata Party is trying to make its presence felt in a big way.

The Naga People’s Front is at the helm in Nagaland.

Elections to Karnataka, Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are due later this year.