As the battle lines are drawn for the elections to the 60-member assembly in Tripura, the opposition CPI(M) and the Congress, after much deliberation, have joined hands to take on arch-rival BJP, which has already announced that it will intends to maintain itself. Alliance with regional tribal organization IPFT.
Tipra Motha, a newly formed tribal party that won the Autonomous District Council elections within months of its formation, is still looking for a partner to contest the elections, as its demand for a separate state ‘Tiprasa’ has been rejected. No support received from anyone. State major parties.
The TMC, which last month reshuffled its entire organization in the state, has said it is ready to go it alone.
The saffron camp, which was able to overthrow the established Left regime, is riding on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to woo voters, emphasizing its “double-engine” growth advantage, while the Left, now in its formidable self is a shadow of Resting on two broad planks – corruption and lawlessness, with the CPI(M) trying to make a comeback in the state.
CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chowdhary said his party and the Congress were carefully chalking out a seat-sharing strategy “keeping in mind the aspirations of the people and the need to defeat the BJP”.
He said, ‘Law and order has completely broken down in the state and the voice of the people is being suppressed. They want the BJP rule in the state to end. Respecting his wish, we have decided to contest the elections together. Defeating BJP is our main agenda.
Congress leader Mukul Wasnik, who has been appointed by the AICC as a senior observer in the poll-bound state of Tripura, claimed that the BJP may try to resort to unfair means if it fails to get enough votes.
“We have to ensure that this does not happen. He said that BJP is a threat to democracy.
The saffron party took a dig at the CPI(M)-Congress alliance, saying it was not surprising as the two parties had always secretly maintained ties while projecting themselves as rivals.
“Until now, they have secretly maintained friendly relations. In fact, the CPI(M) could rule Tripura for 25 years because of its understanding with the Congress.”
Chief Minister Manik Saha, who has been addressing public meetings for the past few weeks, makes sure he lists the achievements of the BJP government in the past five years at every such rally.
The party, which underwent a brand makeover by changing the chief minister less than a year before the elections, recently launched a state-wide ‘Jan Vishwas Yatra’ to garner support, which was flagged off by Union minister Amit Shah.
He said, ‘Our election campaign will be intensified soon. The eight-day ‘Jan Vishwas Yatra’ launched by Amit Bhai Ji on January 5 has received an overwhelming response. We will be able to secure at least 50 seats in the next election, said Subrata Chakraborty, chief spokesperson of the ruling BJP.
Sources in Tipra Motha said party chief Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma wants to consolidate tribal votes not only in the region administered by the Tripura Tribal Autonomous District Council (TTADC), but in all districts.
The organization had earlier announced that it would contest 40 seats in the upcoming elections.
It has also extended an invitation to the IPFT for an alliance.
In a letter to IPFT working president and Tribal Welfare Minister Prem Kumar Reang, Debbarma stressed that “the indigenous people of Tripura must unite under one umbrella to save them from extinction”.
Members of the Congress and CPI(M) said on condition of anonymity that their leadership believes Tipra Motha’s influence will be largely confined to the 20 ST (Scheduled Tribe) constituencies and that the claim of 40 seats is “merely Show off”.
Political analyst Shekhar Dutta argued that no major party would accept the demand for a separate ‘Tipraland’, but the Debbarma-led outfit could emerge as a trump card in the event of a hung assembly.
“It is very difficult for any party or alliance to accommodate Tipra Motha as it will affect the majority Bengali vote base. Tipra Motha also cannot be distracted from the issue of its separate state, because the entire mass base of the party was formed on the basis of this demand.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)