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Rabi Banerjee
Rabi Banerjee

Target Tripura

Tripura: BJP's plan to turn this red fortress saffron faces hurdles

PTI3_1_2013_000202B (File) CPI(M) workers celebrate their party's victory in the 2013 Assembly elections in Tripura | PTI

As part of its expansion in the northeast, Tripura has become the latest prized target for the BJP. It is part of BJP president Amit Shah's vision of a 'Communist-mukt' India, which goes along with its goal of a Congress-mukt India.

The tiny landlocked state, inhabited largely by Bengali-speaking people, has become a prime focus for the BJP in the northeast. While elections in the region are due in Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura, the BJP is devoting more energy to Tripura in comparison with the other states.

Sunil Deodhar, a former RSS official and BJP leader, has made his home in Agartala for the last one year. Himanta Biswa Sarma, national convener of the North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), an alliance for the northeast with 10 political parties, which is modelled on the NDA, has been assisting him round the clock.

Apart from urban areas in Agartala and its adjoining regions, the BJP has been targeting the hilly areas mostly inhabited by the ethnic Tripuri people. But the hills constitute around 19 out of 60 seats, which are mostly in tribal areas.

The BJP had struck an alliance with a tribal body, Indigenous National Party of Twipra (INPT); the INPT had allied with the Congress in the last election, but did not make a mark. The alliance with the INPT, which was earlier known to be a secessionist force, would work out to be of great help.

“I think our alliance with the Congress last time was a big failure. This time, we want many things from the BJP government at the Centre. So we have decided to ally with them,” said Bijay Kumar Hrankhwal, chief of INPT and a former militant.

Hrankhwal, an MLA, said his organisation would press for the introduction of Inner Line Permit (ILP) system for Tripura, like in some other northeast states, to check immigration.

“The BJP has assured us of considering this demand,” Hrankhwal said.

Not only the INPT, the BJP has also been trying to string an alliance with the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), which was recently at the forefront of a violent movement for separate statehood in Tripura, during which a journalist was killed in firing.

Though N.C. Deb Barma, chief of IPFT, said that his organisation would fight the election alone, BJP leaders—such as party in-charge for the northeast Ram Madhav and Sarma—have held a series of meetings in Agartala with the IPFT.

A grand alliance with the INPT and IPFT could help the BJP win more than 20 seats in tribal-dominated areas of Tripura. But what about the rest?

“In urban areas, we have tremendous appeal these days. The urban, educated class is in favour of the Modi-led BJP,” said a senior BJP leader in the state.

But is it feasible for a party, which drew a blank in the last Assembly election in 2013, to capture power? The only achievement the BJP has made in Tripura in the last couple of years was that it replaced the Congress as the second major political force in the state. It won a few student union elections and in some Assembly byelections, it polled the second-highest number of votes.

“Why not? There is a wave in the state. Also, people are fed up with the Left Front government and their failure to give good governance,” said Biplab Deb, the president of the BJP's state unit.

The CPI(M) has accepted the fact that BJP was the main opponent but has declared it would win the Assembly election with more seats than last time.

But last time, the Left Front won 50 out of 60 seats. Could there be any scope of doing better?

“Yes, the BJP is doing lot of activities here. But mark my words: Not only will we retain the seats we won last time, we will do better this time,” said Gautam Das, state secretariat member of the party.

But there has been anger with the government with allegations of a scam in which more than 10,000 teachers were rusticated by the Supreme Court. There have also been other allegations of corruption against the state government.

But like every time, the CPI(M)’s best bet this time also would be Chief Minister Manik Sarkar. His personal stature, integrity and ordinary lifestyle have ensured that he remains popular.

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Topics : #BJP | #Tripura | #CPI(M)

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