The 2019 Lok Sabha elections came to an end yesterday even as the seventh phase of polling concluded. The results are set to be announced on May 23. Most of the exit polls have predicted a comfortable victory for the BJP-led NDA.
BJP has made major inroads in the Northeast region of the country since the Modi government came to power in 2014. NDA had bagged a total of 11 out of 25 seats in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. In Arunachal Pradesh, BJP had secured 1 out of the 2 seats in the state. The predictions had also indicated one seat for BJP and Congress respectively. According to the Times Now-VMR, Republic-CVoter and India Today–Axis, BJP is set to sweep all the seats in Arunachal Pradesh in 2019 polls.
The state of Assam has a share of 14 seats in the parliament. In 2014, BJP had won 7 seats, AIUDF had secured 3, while the Congress managed just 3 seats and one seat was won by an independent candidate. In the 2019 exit polls, Today’s Chanakya has predicted 10 seats for the BJP and only 3 for Congress and 1 for others. According to India Today-Axis, BJP is set to win 12 to 14 seats and Congress would bite the dust with either no seats or a maximum of 2 seats in Assam.
Meghalaya and Manipur, where exit polls and results, both had favoured Congress in 2014, have shown a stark difference in the predictions of 2019 results. In Meghalaya, according to India Today-Axis, Congress may win one seat and regional parties are likely to get the other seat. On the other hand in Manipur, the North-East Democratic Alliance, i.e., NEDA, of which BJP is a part, is likely to win 2 seats as per the predictions of Republic-CVoter. If we go by Republic-Jan ki Baat predictions, NEDA is set to win 1 seat and Congress winning the other one in the state.
Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim, each has a share of one seat in the Lok Sabha. In 2014, the regional parties had won in both Nagaland and Sikkim, while Congress had won in Mizoram. However, according to the India Today-Axis poll, Congress is likely to win Nagaland and Mizoram seats.
The state of Tripura has a total of 2 seats in the parliament and in 2014, CPM had won both of them which was exactly according to the predictions. However, after coming to power in the state in 2018, Biplab Deb as the Chief Minister of Tripura has managed to wipe out the Left from its bastion. This time around too, the Left has been decimated in the state. According to India Today-Axis and Chintamani-5DOTS, the BJP will be sweeping both the seats in Tripura.
According to the 2019 exit polls, BJP also performed exceptionally well in states where it had lost in the recent assembly elections. Although the 2019 exit polls have shown a clear win for the BJP-led NDA, however, these results must be taken with a pinch of salt. Let us wait for the 23rd of May for the final results.