In Tripura, Left-Congress Combine Resolves Seat-Sharing Issue But Chemistry Remains A Challenge
The CPI(M)-led Left Front and the Congress were finally able to resolve their seat-sharing issue in Tripura this week. The Left Front had announced that it would contest 46 seats and support an independent while leaving 13 for the Congress. But the matter got entangled when the grand old party declared candidates for 17 seats, setting up a contest against the Left in 5 seats. Unhappy with this step, the CPI(M) also put up candidates in all seats allotted to the Congress. Later, Congress candidate Kesab Sarkar of Majlishpur in West Tripura district withdrew from the contest as he was unwilling to divide the anti-BJP votes. The CPI(M) has nominated Sanjoy Das from this constituency.
This was an act of building pressure on the Congress by the Left, which was in no mood to give more seats to the grand old party. Discussions continued between CPM and Congress leaders and with the Left remaining rigid on its stance, the Congress was forced to withdraw its candidates from the Barjala (SC) and Badharghat (SC) seats of West Tripura district and Radhakishorepur seat of Gomati district. The Congress had asked for an SC seat and the Left gave the Pabiachhara (SC) seat of the Unakoti district. In exchange, the Congress returned the Pecharthal (ST) seat in the North Tripura district to the CPM. As a result, the Left also withdrew its candidates against the Congress.
Although both parties have been able to solve the seat-sharing issue, the challenge of smoothly transferring votes between them remains a challenge. Both the parties have been long traditional arch-rivals in the state and acrimony between workers and supporters still exists on the ground. The leadership of both parties have asked their workers and supporters to work together to defeat the BJP.
Apart from this, factionalism within the Congress is another problem in the opposition camp. In the Kamalpur constituency of the Dhalai district, ground-level Congress workers and supporters are unhappy with the party’s candidate, Rubi Ghosh. A similar situation prevails in the Dharmanagar seat in the North Tripura district and the Matarbari seat in the Gomati district.
Factionalism A Big Problem For BJP Too In Tripura
The ruling BJP has been worried over the open display of factionalism. Ever since the party declared its candidates, there has been anger against the candidates in some constituencies. The anger has been particularly noticed in the constituencies in the northern part of the state. These include Chandipur, Bagbassa, Kadamtala-Kurti, Jubarajanagar and Kanchanpur (ST). In Krishnapur (ST) of Khowai district, the party didn’t nominate its sitting MLA Atul Debbarma this time, and fielded Janajati Morcha state president Bikash Debbarma. As a result, Atul resigned from the party and filed for nomination as an independent candidate. There has been unhappiness in Kamalasagar's seat in the Sipahijala district too.
In the Chandipur seat, the party’s state committee member and old BJP leader from the area Ranjan Sinha quit the party in anger after being denied a ticket and joined TIPRA Motha. Motha has declared him the candidate for this seat. In the last election, Sinha’s wife Kaberi Sinha had contested and lost against senior CPM leader and then-minister Tapan Chakraborty by only 402 votes. However, the BJP declared Tinku Roy as the candidate for this seat, and this resulted in protests by ground-level BJP workers and supporters. BJP had good prospects in this seat but with the departure of Sinha, the party’s chances now look bleak here. Aware of this, central BJP leader Phanindranath Sarma along with state minister Ramprasad Paul and state party vice-president Ashok Sinha visited Sinha’s house to convince him to withdraw his nomination. However, Sinha wasn't present at home and they had to leave empty-handed. Tinku Roy contested last time from the Kurti-Kadamtala seat as the party's candidate and lost to CPM's Islam Uddin by a large margin.
Although the BJP allotted 5 seats to its ally Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura, ground-level BJP workers and supporters are unhappy with this decision. In the Ramchandraghat (ST) seat of Khowai district, BJP mandal president Sanjit Debbarma has joined the fray as an independent candidate against IPFT’s Prasanta Debbarma, the sitting MLA. In the Jolaibari (ST) seat of South Tripura, at least two BJP candidates had filed nominations as independent candidates but the party leadership was later successful in persuading them to withdraw nominations. IPFT’s youth leader Sukla Charan Noatia is contesting from this seat. In Kanchanpur, BJP leader Bimanjoy Reang has entered the fray as an independent against IPFT’s Prem Kumar Reang, who is the sitting MLA as well as the party’s working president. However, in the Jubarajnagar constituency, the BJP leadership has been successful in convincing party rebel Kanti Gopal Nath to withdraw from the contest.
Protest Erupts In Sikkim Against SC Observation
This week, various political parties organised protests across the state against a Supreme Court verdict delivered on January 13. The court had referred to the majority Sikkimese Nepalis as people of “foreign origin” who had “migrated to and settled in Sikkim”. This observation has once again ignited the existing division over the identity issue among the three communities of the state — Lepchas, Bhutias and Nepalis. The ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) has been critical of the remark and observed a bandh on Monday.
Hamro Sikkim Party chief Bhaichung Bhutia has already been demanding to restore the provision of reservation of seats in the state assembly for the Nepali community. He had already met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on this issue. Last Sunday, he joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra where he apprised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi about this demand, besides other issues of the state.
Democracy is not only about securing rights of the minorities but about addressing the concerns of the majority community. Only then it is likely to function well. Before 1979, the Sikkim assembly had 16 seats each reserved for the Nepali community, and the Lepcha and Bhutia communities in the 32-member assembly. Presently, 12 seats in the assembly are reserved for Lepcha and Bhutia while there is no reservation for the Nepali community. It’s time the Centre stepped in to address the concerns of the majority Nepali community.
War Of Words Between NPP And TMC In Meghalaya
The main Opposition party of the state, Trinamool Congress, has been busy campaigning. Party’s face and Opposition leader Mukul Sangma targeted the ruling National People’s Party of Chief Minister Conrad Sangma as the B-team of the BJP. To prove his argument, he recalled how the BJP ministers and Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma had flown to Shillong in 2018 to form the NPP-led government. TMC repeatedly attacking the NPP for its alliance with BJP shows the party is trying hard to play the Christian card in the Christian-majority state. Mamata Banerjee’s party knows that getting the majority in the state, known for giving fractured verdicts, is really tough particularly when the party’s presence isn’t that strong in the Khasi-Jaintia region.
The ruling NPP is also not ready to spare the TMC. After labelling the TMC as the party favouring the “Bangladeshis”, the ruling party has fired another salvo against the main opposition party. Now, NPP spokesperson Bajop Pyngrope has termed the TMC an “anti-tribal” party. He recalled how the TMC didn’t support tribal candidate Droupadi Murmu during the Presidential polls held last year and how party leader Kirti Azad mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi wearing Khasi attire. NPP seems to be worried as TMC is likely to harm its prospects in the Garo hills. Meghalaya is a tribal majority state and to counter TMC, the NPP is now using the tribal card.
The author is a political commentator.
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