The Congress massively deflated its vote share in the Nagaland Assembly elections, which were dominated by the Naga People’s Front and the alliance between the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Congress could not win a single seat in the state, as it got votes from only 2.1% of the electorate, as compared to nearly a quarter in the 2013 Assembly elections.
The Naga People’s Front – the largest party in the elections – also lost significant support of the voters. The party, which retained power in the state in 2013 with 38 seats in the 60-member Assembly and 47% votes, was reduced to 39.1% of the vote share this time. It managed to win 25 seats, according to the results the Election Commission declared on Saturday.
The major challenger to NPF, the NDPP-BJP alliance, also won 25 seats. The BJP had just one seat and 1.8% of the vote share in the 2013 elections. This rose to 14.4% in 2018, with victory on 10 seats. In February, the saffron party had ended its alliance with the NPF to tie up with the newly formed NDPP.
Among other parties, the National People’s Party had the best vote share at 7%. It contested the elections in alliance with the NPF. Independent candidates, who had won seven constituencies in 2013, managed just one this time. Their vote share fell from 17.8% to 4.3%.
Nearly 5,700 voters – 0.6% of the electorate – chose the “None of the Above” option.
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