Tripura: Surprising challenge in Left bastion

From a non-entity in the state, BJP in 3 years has risen to principal opposition, eclipsing Congress

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) recently became the primary opposition in Left-ruled Tripura, without having won a single seat in the 2013 assembly election.

Six Trinamool Congress (TMC) legislators, expelled by party chief Mamata Banerjee, joined the BJP. Among those at at the function were Dharmendra Pradhan, Union minister and Himanta Biswa Sarma, finance minister of Assam. The TMC legislators, led by Sudip Roy Barman, met BJP chief Amit Shah in Delhi and finalised their entry. At a time when Tripura, with Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya, is preparing for assembly elections in 2018. 

Shift in voting share

Till the 2013 legislative assembly election,