With Tripura, Nagaland in its kitty, BJP expands its footprint to 20 states

A saffron wave swept through Tripura on Saturday after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance decimated the Left Front and won 43 out of 59 seats in the state. Bagging just 16 seats in the 60-member Assembly, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has been ousted from power in the state after 25 years. 

In Nagaland, the National Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP)-BJP is leading in 28 constituencies in the 60-member Nagaland assembly in what has been a close fight with Naga Peoples Front (NPF) close behind with 26 seats. 

In a major disappointment for the Congress, Meghalaya, which was once a party bastion, is heading towards a hung house. Congress is leading in 21 seats while the National People's Party (NPP) emerged at the second spot with 19 seats.

With the election results on Saturday going in favour of the BJP, the saffron flag is set to fly over Tripura too. However, BJP President Amit Shah is confident that they will be able to form their government in Meghalaya also. Till now, the BJP-led NDA had its government in 19 states and with Saturday's results, the tally is set to go up to 20 (may be 21 if BJP is able to strike a bargain in Meghalaya).

In December 2017, the BJP retained Gujarat and wrested Himachal Pradesh from Congress. The results on Saturday will take the total number of states where BJP has formed governments on its own or with allies after Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office in 2014 to 15. 

The states where BJP-NDA is in power are: 
1.    Andhra Pradesh
2.    Arunachal Pradesh
3.    Assam
4.    Bihar
5.    Chhattisgarh
6.    Goa
7.    Gujarat
8.    Haryana
9.    Himachal Pradesh
10.  Jammu & Kashmir
11.  Jharkhand
12.  Madhya Pradesh
13.  Maharashtra
14.  Manipur
15.  Nagaland
16.  Rajasthan
17.  Sikkim
18.  Tripura
19.  Uttar Pradesh
20.  Uttarakhand

The Congress is in power in 
1 Punjab 
2 Karnataka 
3 Mizoram

The next major battle for the BJP is in Karnataka where it will try to unseat the Congress while the latter will put in all its efforts to keep its hold on the state. The string of victories of the BJP will also determine the strength with which the party heads to Lok Sabha elections in 2019.