<p>Tripura's ruling Left Front Thursday stormed back to power in Tripura for the fifth straight term, delivering a humiliating blow to the Congress.<br /><br />The Left Front led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) also increased its vote share compared to 2008, election officials said.<br /><br />The Congress and its allies, the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) and the Nationalist Conference of Tripura were crushed, for the fifth consecutive time since 1993.<br /><br />The CPI-M on its own won 32 seats of the total 44 results declared so far in the 60-member assembly and was leading in nine more seats.<br /><br />Its allies, the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and the Communist Party of India (CPI), won one seat each. The CPI lost a seat.<br /><br />The Congress managed got 10 seats and was leading in one more. The INPT was leading in one constituency.<br /><br />Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, 64, who has ruled Tripura since 1998, won from Dhanpur by a margin of around 5,000 votes. It was Sarkar's sixth win.<br /><br />Finance Minister Badal Chowdhury posted the highest winning margin of 12,450 votes.<br />Commerce Minister Jitendra Chowdhury, School Education Minister Tapan Chakraborty, Information Minister Anil Sarkar, Tribal Welfare Minister Aghore Debbarma and all cabinet colleagues retained their seats by huge margins.<br /><br />Teacher-turned-politician Anil Sarkar, 75, who is also a poet and writer, was re-elected on CPI-M ticket from Pratapgarh in western Tripura for a record ninth time.<br /><br />Congress leader Ratan Lal Nath was also re-elected from Mohanpur while state Congress president Sudip Roy Barman retained his Agartala seat -- for the fourth time.<br /><br />Former Tripura assembly speaker Jitendra Sarkar, who this time contested on Congress ticket, wrested Barjala seat from the CPI-M. Sarkar won by 254 votes defeating Jitendra Das.<br /><br />In a significant development, CPI-M's Ratan Das wrested Ramnagar after a gap of 25 years. He defeated former state Congress chief and ex-minister Surajit Datta by just 15 votes.<br /><br />"This is a great victory for the Left Front and shows its popularity and public support. Good governance is one of the key factors for the thumping victory," gloated CPI-M spokesperson Gautam Das.<br /><br />"People voted for the Left to establish peace and development in all sectors," Das told IANS.</p>.<p><br />Former chief minister and Congress leader Samir Ranjan Barma and INPT president and former militant leader Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhawl were trailing.<br /><br />Tripura made electoral history when a record 93.57 percent of the 2.3 million voters exercised their franchise Feb 14 to pick a 60-seat assembly. There were 249 candidates.<br /><br />The Left Front has ruled Tripura since 1978 barring one term (1988-93).<br /><br />In 2008, the Left registered a thumping victory. The CPI-M alone won 46 seats and partners CPI and RSP secured one and two seats respectively. The Congress bagged 10 seats and the INPT one.</p>
<p>Tripura's ruling Left Front Thursday stormed back to power in Tripura for the fifth straight term, delivering a humiliating blow to the Congress.<br /><br />The Left Front led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) also increased its vote share compared to 2008, election officials said.<br /><br />The Congress and its allies, the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) and the Nationalist Conference of Tripura were crushed, for the fifth consecutive time since 1993.<br /><br />The CPI-M on its own won 32 seats of the total 44 results declared so far in the 60-member assembly and was leading in nine more seats.<br /><br />Its allies, the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and the Communist Party of India (CPI), won one seat each. The CPI lost a seat.<br /><br />The Congress managed got 10 seats and was leading in one more. The INPT was leading in one constituency.<br /><br />Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, 64, who has ruled Tripura since 1998, won from Dhanpur by a margin of around 5,000 votes. It was Sarkar's sixth win.<br /><br />Finance Minister Badal Chowdhury posted the highest winning margin of 12,450 votes.<br />Commerce Minister Jitendra Chowdhury, School Education Minister Tapan Chakraborty, Information Minister Anil Sarkar, Tribal Welfare Minister Aghore Debbarma and all cabinet colleagues retained their seats by huge margins.<br /><br />Teacher-turned-politician Anil Sarkar, 75, who is also a poet and writer, was re-elected on CPI-M ticket from Pratapgarh in western Tripura for a record ninth time.<br /><br />Congress leader Ratan Lal Nath was also re-elected from Mohanpur while state Congress president Sudip Roy Barman retained his Agartala seat -- for the fourth time.<br /><br />Former Tripura assembly speaker Jitendra Sarkar, who this time contested on Congress ticket, wrested Barjala seat from the CPI-M. Sarkar won by 254 votes defeating Jitendra Das.<br /><br />In a significant development, CPI-M's Ratan Das wrested Ramnagar after a gap of 25 years. He defeated former state Congress chief and ex-minister Surajit Datta by just 15 votes.<br /><br />"This is a great victory for the Left Front and shows its popularity and public support. Good governance is one of the key factors for the thumping victory," gloated CPI-M spokesperson Gautam Das.<br /><br />"People voted for the Left to establish peace and development in all sectors," Das told IANS.</p>.<p><br />Former chief minister and Congress leader Samir Ranjan Barma and INPT president and former militant leader Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhawl were trailing.<br /><br />Tripura made electoral history when a record 93.57 percent of the 2.3 million voters exercised their franchise Feb 14 to pick a 60-seat assembly. There were 249 candidates.<br /><br />The Left Front has ruled Tripura since 1978 barring one term (1988-93).<br /><br />In 2008, the Left registered a thumping victory. The CPI-M alone won 46 seats and partners CPI and RSP secured one and two seats respectively. The Congress bagged 10 seats and the INPT one.</p>