CPI(M)'s lost battle in Tripura

Isnehar Begum, 46, wears a burqa and a hijab. And a necklace that has the photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in its locket. A resident of Dhanpur in Tripura, Isnehar was a booth-level worker of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Congress. Today, along with many others in her area, she goes door to door in Dhanpur—Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar’s constituency since 1993—asking Muslims to vote for the BJP in the assembly elections on February 18.

Now a member of the BJP’s state minority cell, Isnehar joined the party in 2015. “Modiji is the most lovable leader in India for Muslims,” she said. “He does not use Muslims for political gains, but works hard to improve their lives.” Isnehar said Modi had increased the monthly salary of madrassa teachers in India. When asked what role Modi played in madrassas, which are run by the state, Isnehar said, “The money comes from the Central government. And, it is the prime minister who increased the fund for madrassas.”

Isnehar’s husband left her and fled to Bangladesh in 1993. From there, he gave her triple talaq over the phone. Her in-laws asked her to leave, and she became homeless. Isnehar joined a group of about 100 landless tribals, entered the forest and set up a colony there. But, the communist government demolished the settlement saying there were no landless people in Tripura.

“They said it was a violation of the reserve forest act [Indian Forest Act, 1927],” she said. “They also demolished a mosque which had built inside the forest.” She protested despite the government’s warning and was booked under the act. She has been fighting the case for the last two decades.

More trouble was waiting for Isnehar when she joined the BJP in 2015. She was booked under a series of criminal cases. “The allegations against me was theft, theft and theft,” she said. “When people said I have not stolen anything, they said I stole government property.”

Isnehar Begum | Salil Bera

After supporting the left in early adulthood and the Congress later on, Isnehar is now fully devoted to the BJP. And, she is not alone. Hundreds of Muslims in Tripura, which has a Muslim population of about 3.5 lakh, are supporting the BJP. “There are plenty of Isnehar Begums in Tripura, deprived and tortured under the left rule,” said Siraj Ali, president of the BJP’s state minority cell. “And, they are joining the BJP. The triple talaq [ban] has established that the BJP is not anti-Muslim.”

Another allegation against the left is corruption. Even the remotest parts of Dhanpur constituency, 70km from state capital Agartala, have good roads. But, the villagers said many of them received only about 60 per cent of the funds allocated under the prime minister’s rural housing scheme. Bechu Mia, who lives a short distance away from Isnehar’s house, said: “It’s a corrupt government. I won’t tell you whom I will vote for. But not for communists, for sure. The time has come for change. We will have to do it now.”

Mia’s daughter-in-law fell sick a few months back. The chief minister’s constituency has nothing more than a primary health care unit. Mia could not take his daughter-in-law to Agartala as he earns only Rs 4,000 per month. “Seeing my condition, her father, who hails from Bangladesh, took her there, around 300km from Dhanpur,” said Mia. “But, she could not be saved.” Mia’s son is a labourer.

Mia said he would accept the BJP if it came to seek his vote. “We don’t have water,” he said. “We drink from roadside wells and they are all polluted. Go deep into the village, and you will find people drinking from drains. We cannot be indifferent to the BJP anymore.”

Are not these Muslims in Dhanpur afraid of the BJP’s communal tag? Abdul Hasem, Mia’s neighbour said: “Who are they [the left] to tell us that we should not vote for the BJP because they would create trouble if they come to power?” Dhanpur’s 40,000 voters comprise Hindus, Muslims and tribals. Muslims and tribals constitute the majority and BJP youth leader Prosenjit Bose said their anger would ensure Sarkar’s defeat in Dhanpur. The same anger is evident all over the state, including in small towns.

Tripura recently saw an unprecedented agitation by tribals demanding a separate state. The BJP has also sensed the Muslim resentment. Biplab Deb, the BJP’s state president, was greeted with garlands by Muslims of Sonamura subdivision, under which Dhanpur falls. He had donated Rs 5 lakh from the party fund to a madrassa recently (see interview).

But, will Deb’s generosity influence votes? Mufti Abdul Mannan, cashier-cum-teacher at the K.U.G. Madrassa that received the fund, said the madrassa, which has 380 teachers, would have no influence on politics. When asked whether the present government should remain in power, he said, “I can only say that while voting, Muslims should keep in the mind the peace and unity of the state.”

Liquid of life: A woman collects drinking water on the outskirts of Agartala. Water scarcity is a major problem in Tripura’s villages.

His response is in line with the diktats issued by mosques against joining the BJP. But Siraj Ali said Muslims are violating diktats to join the saffron brigade. The state BJP, which only had a handful of minority members till a few years back, now has more than 10,000 Muslims in its ranks.

One of the major reasons for this meteoric rise is unemployment. Sundar Ali, 32, a graduate of K.U.G. Madrassa is still jobless. He said he appeared for 23 interviews for government jobs, but always members of the Students’ Federation of India or Democratic Youth Federation of India were picked. Sundar has not joined the BJP, but said that he would vote for it.

“The left and the Congress make Muslims poor, and make them their vote bank,” he said. “They are the real criminals. I think the BJP does nothing wrong. We will support universal civil code. We are happy with the triple talaq ban. We can easily eat beef in the northeast. They talk about jobs for Muslim boys and girls. And that is the reason Muslims will support the BJP.”

To add to woes of the left front, the resentment against the government is also rising among Bengali Hindus. Asit Ghosh, 32, from Chandrakona Colony in Matabari constituency of Udaipur—a CPI(M) stronghold—said he had appeared for 78 government job interviews. “The jobs were administrative, as teacher and accountant,” said Asit. “Last time, I even applied as a driver, though I was a postgraduate. I did not get any job because I was not a party member.” Disgruntled, Asit joined the BJP.

Jayanta Dutta, 28, from Udaipur, where BJP national president Amit Shah addressed a massive rally in mid-January, said: “I have an MBA from a Delhi B-school. I wanted to come back to my state and do something. So, I began rubber business. But CPI(M) cadre demanded money for my business. They were extorting me.” Dutta said that though he was averse to politics, he decided to combat them from a political platform, and joined the BJP.

None of these men had any kind of BJP or RSS background. They said they were victims of the two and a half decades of authoritarian rule by the CPI(M). In fact, Prosenjit Ghosh from Mela Ghar, who joined the BJP this year, said his political career will be temporary—only till the CPI(M) is uprooted from the state. Such anger and desperation has led to a pro-BJP wave in the state. The party membership has jumped from 10,000 in 2016 to 3.5 lakh today.

Said political analyst Sekhar Dutta: “I am literally confused. I don’t know who will win this election. We might even see a change this time.” Apart from unemployment, another major point raised by the BJP is the situation of the state government employees. While the Central government is paying as per the Seventh Pay Commission, around 2.5 lakh Tripura state government employees are being paid as per the Fourth Pay Commission.

Even the Congress accepts that the BJP is on the rise across the state. “Yes, there is a wind in the BJP’s favour,” said Gopal Roy, leader of the Congress Legislature Party. “But, I don’t think that would be strong enough to dislodge the CPI(M).” He admitted that the Congress would not be a force to reckon with in this election. Scores of Congress leaders, and all but two MLAs, have joined the BJP.

Another major factor is the tribals—40 per cent of the voters—majority of whom are demanding the separate state called Twipraland. The BJP has formed an alliance with the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) in 28 tribal seats in the Autonomous District Council (ADC) area.

Naren Chandra Debabarma, chief of the IPFT, said: “We asked the BJP to let us contest in at least 20 out of 28 seats. But, they pressed for more and for the sake of removing the left, I agreed to contest 10 seats only.” However, he said the IPFT will break the alliance if the BJP does not grant them separate statehood. Debabarma said the state government never gave Central funds to the ADC. The signs of poverty in the ADC areas near Udaipur, only 50km from Agartala, are disturbing and painful. A large number of the tribals make and sell illicit country liquor. Asked why they do this, Subrata Reang of the Bru community said, “Otherwise, we will starve to death. We don’t have water in our village. Once a year, during rains, we can farm. Rest of the time, we have to prepare liquor to survive. We earn Rs 5,000 a month from selling it.”

The CPI(M) said the development in the ADC regions was stalled because of reduced Central government allocations. “Just remember what Tripura was decades back and what it is today,” said Gautam Das, CPI(M) Tripura central committee member. “The Central government has reduced the allocations for tribal areas with the scrapping of the planning commission. But, despite that, we will win all seats in the ADC area.”

Das called the alliance between the IPFT and the BJP dangerous, and said the IPFT was the political front of the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), a militant organisation. “The IPFT’s political agenda is decided by NLFT leadership,” Das told THE WEEK. “In May last year, the NLFT met at Panchori, Chittagong, where it decided to support the IPFT for the demand of separate statehood.”

He said the Sarkar government had told the Centre about this. “Our government informed the Centre, and even the IB knows it,” said Das. “So, it is extremely shocking to see the BJP aligning with such a divisive force.” Debabarma said the allegation was baseless. “Even the NLFT has issued a statement that they are not supporting us,” he said.

The left front won 50 out of 60 seats in 2013; the Congress won the other 10. But, it is a totally different ball game this time. With the Congress votes steadily swinging towards the BJP, along with Muslim and tribal votes, the only obstacle before the saffron party could be the “clean and efficient” image of Manik Sarkar.