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Manik Saha defeated Congress's veteran leader Ashish Kumar Saha, by a margin of 1,257 votes from Town Bardowali.
James Sangma held the portfolios of Home, District Council Affairs, Food Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, Law, and Power in the Government of Meghalaya.
Tipra Motha, a regional party floated by Pradoyt Kishore Manikya Debbarma, a scion of the erstwhile royal family, is set to play a key role in the formation of the next government in Tripura.
Tipra Motha has been leading in 12 assembly constituencies out of 20 reserved for Scheduled Tribe categories, denting the hopes of the ruling BJP and the Left-Congress combine of sailing through.
Initial trends indicate that Tipra Motha is set to substantially eat into the BJP's vote share in the state's tribal belts. This time, Tipra Motha has replaced the IPFT as the most prominent tribal party as it has apparently won over the support of a large section of tribal voters with Debbarma's promise of a 'Greater Tipraland'.
Despite several attempts at outreach, neither the ruling BJP nor the opposition CPI(M) could ally with the Tipra Motha for the assembly polls.
The ruling NPP has said recently that the elected MLAs would decide on the next CM, while party supremo and Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has remained silent so far.
The six-party ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) is at work to form a coalition government again but it is said to be rooting for a new face as the chief minister.
Can Sangma still continue as CM? Click here to read about the negotiations for Meghalaya's hot seat.
NDPP founder and Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has been leading in the Northern Angami II seat over his nearest rival Seyievilie Sachu of the Indian National Congress by over 3,709 votes, the EC website said.
The NDPP-BJP alliance are in the lead in Nagaland. Both parties are contesting the elections on a 40:20 seat-sharing basis.
Meanwhile, the Republican Party of India (Athawale) was leading in two seats, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was ahead in two and the National People's Party in one. Independents were leading in two seats, and JD(U) was ahead in one seat.
The Naga People’s Front (NPF), which had been in power in the state from 2003-18, virtually conceded defeat by contesting only 22 seats. It had emerged as the single largest party in the last election by winning 26 seats but the BJP-NDPP combine formed a coalition government along with others.
The NPF got disintegrated last year when its 21 MLAs defected to NDPP. Later, the NPF was accommodated in the government to make it an all-party and “Opposition-l ess” government. The idea was to pursue the unresolved Naga political issue cohesively with one voice. The Congress, which was a powerhouse in the state under former Chief Minister SC Jamir but has now got reduced to a shadow of its glorious past, is contesting 23 seats. The party drew a blank in the last election.
Votes polled in 59 of the 60 assembly constituencies of the state on February 27 are being counted at 13 centres across the state. Polling in the Sohiong seat was adjourned due to the death of a candidate.
The BJP had constantly targeted National People's Party leader and Chief Minister Conrad Sangma for running the "most corrupt" state government in the country. But it is CM Sangma who is pulling ahead in early leads.
Exit polls have predicted a hung assembly in Meghalaya, as the ruling NPP is believed to have been holding parleys with the BJP for a possible post-poll alliance.
An interesting sideshow to this election is the strong push by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress to make an impact in the polls to project itself as a stronger challenger to the BJP than the Congress, more so as the countdown to the next Lok Sabha polls in 2024 begins.
Among the three states, it is Tripura that promises to have more national resonance than the two others as traditional rivals Congress and the Left have joined hands for the first time to challenge the BJP in the election to the state's 60-member assembly.
A triangular contest is being witnessed between the alliances of BJP-IPFT, the Left Front-Congress, and Tipra Motha, a new outfit floated by former royal scion Pradyot Manikya Debbarma.
A total of 89.98 per cent of 28.12 lakh voters exercised their franchise during polling on February 16. As many as 259 candidates from different political parties are in the fray.
In the 2018 assembly elections, the BJP won 36 seats, while its ally IPFT bagged 18 constituencies. The CPI(M)-led Left Front emerged victorious in 16 seats, while the Congress drew a blank.