No majority, a change of government
What happened
No party won enough seats to govern alone, and the party that finished on top did not end up leading the government.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) led the field, winning 26 of the 60 seats.
That left it short of the 31-seat mark needed for a majority.
Its closest rival, the Indian National Congress, won 25 seats.
What changed
A large share of the assembly changed hands from the previous election.
Across the state, 13 seats moved from the CPM to the INC, the single biggest shift of the election.
CPM's own seat count fell from 37 at the previous election to 26 this time.
Notable numbers
A few numbers from that election stand out.
The tightest race of the night was in Matarbari, Tripura, decided by a margin — how far ahead the winner finished, in votes, over whoever came second — of just 8 votes.
Turnout — the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot — reached 84.6% across the state, the highest Tripura had recorded up to that point.
At the other extreme, Asharambari, Tripura was the most lopsided contest, with the winner ahead by 57.5% of the vote.
The most crowded ballot was in Fatikroy, Tripura, where 7 candidates stood.
The backdrop
A rival alliance ended up forming the government instead, following a campaign marked by widespread violence.
The 1988 Tripura Legislative Assembly election was held on 2 February amid widespread election-related violence. An Indian National Congress-Tripura Upajati Juba Samiti alliance won 32 of 60 seats (Congress 25, TUJS 7), unseating the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front government in office since 1978. Sudhir Ranjan Majumdar (Congress) became Chief Minister on 5 February 1988.