What Tripura win means for the BJP & its 'Congress-Mukt' Bharat mission

One reason why it hasn't is the failure of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) to perceptively boost Tripura's economy

Prima facie, it can seem that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been able to achieve its objective of ushering in a Congress-mukt (free) India in the northeast, especially in Tripura, by being in a position to come to power in at least two of the three states which went to the polls last month.

However, such a conclusion will be facile. The reason is that in Tripura, for instance, the BJP has succeeded in coopting virtually all the entire 30-plus per cent support base of the Congress. As a result, it can be said that the BJP in Tripura