Saffron surge sweeps N-E states too (2nd Lead)

The saffron surge that swept the entire country on Thursday also gripped India's north-east with the BJP leading in 14 out of the total 25 seats in the eight northeastern states.

In Assam, BJP is leading in nine out of the 14 Lok Sabha seats including Autonomous Council (Diphu), Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Jorhat, Karimganj, Lakhimpur, Mangaldai, Tezpur and Silchar seats while the party is also leading in the two Lok Sabha seats each in Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura, and one of the two Lok Sabha seats in Manipur.

The BJP is ruling in Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and in Manipur state assemblies.

In Assam, the Congress is likely to retain its tally of three seats this time winning the Kaliabar, Nowgong and Barpeta Lok Sabha seats. While Kaliabar is a fortress of Congress, the party is likely to gain in Barpeta and Nowgong Lok Sabha seats, which were held by All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and BJP respectively in the past.

Nowgong Lok Sabha seat is important as Nowgong used to be a citadel of the BJP held by sitting MP and Union Minister of state for railway, Rajen Gohain.

BJP's alliance partner, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), who contested three seats failed to make any impact.

The AIUDF led by Badruddin Ajmal in Assam is likely to retain the Dhubri Lok Sabha seat. The Kokrajhar Lok Sabha seat in Assam is likely to be retained by sitting Lok Sabha MP, Naba Kumar Sarania, an Independent candidate.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal credited the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the victory, saying the people of the country have reposed faith in the visionary leadership of the Prime Minister.

--IANS

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