In the 2019 general elections, the BJP was able to open its account in Tripura. Its candidates – Rebati Tripura from East Tripura and Pratima Bhowmik from West Tripura – won by a massive margin of votes. But what is also worth taking note is the Congress’s resurgence in the northeastern state after it was thrashed in last year’s assembly polls.
In the 2018 assembly elections, the BJP witnessed a dramatic rise and managed to unseat the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist). From a dismal 1.54% vote share in 2013 splayed through 50 of the 60 assembly seats it contested, the saffron party grabbed a huge chunk of the Congress’s vote share, surging to 43%.
The grand old party had 36.53% of the vote share in 2013, which helped it win ten of the 48 seats it contested. In 2018, its tally was down to zilch, while the vote share tumbled to a gloomy 1.8%. Many pronounced the party dead in the state.