The three-cornered fight that is unfolding in the state of Tripura will help the Left-Congress alliance in the upcoming elections, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said.“The BJP (and its ally IPFT) had won 18 seats in the last elections out of 20 seats in the tribal areas,” pointed out Yechury. In the 60-member Tripura assembly, 20 seats are reserved for tribal areas. The BJP won a total of 36 seats to form a government in 2018, with half of them coming from the tribal region.
“This time the Tipra Motha is at the forefront in tribal areas. The IPFT is now just a rump and BJP has given them only 5 seats. The advantage that BJP got last time won’t be repeated. That should help the Left-Congress alliance... In the last elections, BJP had a 43.59-per cent vote share compared to CPI(M)’s 42.22 per cent and Congress’s couple of percentage points. “We will gain from it,” asserted Yechury.
In 2018, the BJP stormed to power. The elections to this tiny state’s assembly are considered important as political pundits see the possibility of a tough contest between the ruling party and the opposition. Till 2018, the electoral contest in the state was largely between the Congress and CPI(M).
“At the ground level, who will be able to defeat the BJP, that assessment will be made by ground-level leaders,” Yechury said, explaining his statement made earlier at a press conference that though there is no pre-poll adjustment with Tipra Motha, there can be a local-level understanding. “That is why I said there is a likelihood at that point of time because the people will decide who can achieve this objective (of defeating the BJP),” he said, without committing to any further elaboration on ground-level adjustments that may be made.
“CPI(M) was the most consistent in opposing the repression unleashed on the people and that has been recognised by the people,” Yechury said. The CPI(M), which suffered attacks on its party offices and workers in the past and desertions by some of its workers to BJP, has been more than visible in the assembly elections.
(With PTI inputs)
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