Agartala, Mar 3: A historic mandate awaited the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday as the Election Commission declared the results of Tripura assembly polls 2018. In an unprecedented rise for the BJP, the party which had no electoral presence in 2013 ended up winning a two-third majority in this round of the elections. In the process, the party ended up annihilating the CPI(M)-led Left Front, which has been ruling the state since the past 25 years.

The saffron surge in Tripura could be gauged by the fact that the BJP, which secured only 1.3 per cent of the total voteshare in 2013, secured 42.6 per cent votes in the recently conducted elections.

49 of the party's 50 candidates in 2013 had  to forfeit their deposits. On the other hand, the BJP-led alliance succeeded in winning 43 seats in the assembly elections of 2018.

While 35 have been bagged by the BJP, 8 were wrested by its anti-Left tribal ally - the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT).

BJP president Amit Shah reiterated the fact while addressing the press in Agartala on his party's performance. "There was a time when we could secure only 1.3 per cent of the votes. Today, our vote share has jumped to 42.8 per cent. This proves the hard work of our volunteers," he said.

While the BJP grabbed over 42 per cent of the vote share, the  IPFT secured around 8 per cent of the votes.

The CPI(M)-led Left Front, despite being restricted to 16 seats, secured 45 per cent of the votes.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, while conceding his party's defeat, said the Left Front would "like to thank the 45 per cent of Tripura voters who had reposed faith in the leadership of Manik Sarkar".

"Although we are no longer in power, the issues of poor, tribals, farmers, labourers and minorities would never be forfeited by the Left," said Yechury, further accusing the BJP of usurping power in Tripura "using money power".

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 03, 2018 04:28 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).