Meghalaya: Early trends suggest big lead for NPP; TMC, BJP distant seconds

Counting of votes in the Meghalaya began at 8 am on Thursday, March 2, amid expectations of political drama in the hill-state.

As of 9 am, early trends indicated that the NPP was leading in 22 seats, the TMC and the BJP in 10 each, the UDP in 8, and the Congress in 7.

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The elections in Meghalaya are being fought by the TMC, BJP, Congress, NPP and UDP, and unlike the 2018 Assembly elections, the BJP and NPP have contested separately.

That being said, with the BJP predicted to win 3-11 seats and the NPP projected to establish a foothold in 18-26 seats, the saffron party may well join hands with its former ally following the declaration of results.

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Meghalaya had gone to polls on February 27, with the state seeing a high voter turnout of more than 85 per cent.