In the coming assembly elections, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to disrupt the status-quo by dislodging the red from its citadel
Ganesh Krishnan R in Agartala
Coming from one Communist stronghold of Kerala, I had a set perceptions and expectations about Tripura, the another Communist bastion. Communists, especially the CPM, do not keep any stone unturned to display their domination in the bastion. The BJP that has emerged as a new challenger to the CPM has almost done flag to flag marking and cornered the long time ruling party on every front. The complete dichotomy between what Tripura is projected in numbers as a model of development and what is there on the ground is perhaps the single most important reason that is giving the BJP a solid ground to continue its march in the region. With the Assembly elections round the corner, sensing the political developments, the BJP looks in a comfortable position to extend its influence in the Northeast by dislodging the CPM from the power. Unlike previous years, in 2018, the unprecedented surge of the nationalist party in the State is that which brings the Assembly elections in the limelight. Tripura has never disappointed the CPM ever since it returned back to power in 1993. So far, CPM hardly had any major political opposition, making it a one-party rule, capturing the entire political space with rutheless abuse of government and non-government institutions. This time the situation is transformed. The BJP state unit of Tripura is highly confident that the voters of Tripura will reinstate democracy in the State by casting away the ‘CPM cell rule’.
Strong antipathy among the people against the one-party rule of the CPM and new-found exposure to the people with greater connectivity with the rest of India are the two factors that are working in favour of BJP. The rural distress of the indigenous population that is apparent in the tribal areas of the hill state and of course.
Cover Story/Interview: TheTripura story is yet to be told
“Crime and the CPM Go Hand-in-Hand” Tripura’s twenty five years long CPM-led Left front rule is now under challenge after two mammoth rallies of Amit Shah on January 7. One in the Dhalai district and the other in the Gomati District, where Amit Shah worshipped Devi Tripureswari, one of the fifty one Shakti Peethas. Amit shah stated that he had seen uprising of people to drive out Manik Sarkar’s Government from the state. While addressing the rallies he stated that uprooting the CPM-led Government has become inevitable as the ““The situation in Tripura has deteriorated so much that I wonder if Manik Sarkar’s government did any work at all in so many years! The countdown for Manik Sarkar has begun, soon the BJP will form government and fulfill the aspirations of people in Tripura” — Amit Shah, National President of BJP” The State employees are still getting the 4th pay commission. He promised that 7th pay commission will be implemented after formation of the BJP Government in Tripura. “The Modi Government has fixed minimum labour wage at Rs 340 per day across the country but Manik Sarkar Government is giving only Rs 170. The BJP Government will increase it to Rs 340 per day after forming the government in Tripura,” he assured. We will work towards increasing the income of farmers too, will offer them opportunities to grow organic products with special emphasis on Bamboo, rubber and jute, he added. He stated that seven Tripura BJP Karyakartas had been killed in one year. The vicious cycle of violence will not work as the people of Tripura have woken up and will give a befitting reply to the CPM. |
Meanwhile, the development agenda of the Narendra Modi-led NDA Government coupled with the wind of change that has been blowing across the entire Northeast region are also the defining factors.
According to political analysts, the withering away of the Congress, the lone and weak opposition, will also give a significant advantage to the BJP. Recently, senior Congress MLA Ratan Lal Nath joined the BJP along with his supporters, followed by the six MLAs who had earlier shifted to the TMC.
All Round Strategy
There has been the discontent of the people. The BJP?has a systematic strategy to convert that into votes. “Now we have already employed vistaraks in almost all constituencies and all districts. They will look after and stear the door-to-door election campaign and coordinate the election work in the ground level,” said Shri Sunil Deodhar, the BJP national executive member and Tripura state in-charge. Having a vast experience of organisation building in the Northeast, Deodhar has played a key role in expanding the base and enhancing the political activities of the party in Tripura.
Dismantling the MODELNearly two and a half decade long uninterrupted CPM rule has rendered Tripura as one of the most backward states in the country as per any yardsticks of development. Bordered by Bangladesh to the north, south and west, Tripura is the third smallest state in India with a population of around 37 lakh and an area of around 10000 square kilometres. It would be quiet amusing to imagine as to how the CPM, which is hell-bent on disparaging the BJP’s Gujarat Model, is going to justify the party’s ‘Tripura Model of (under)development’. The 25 years of the CPM rule has apparently made zero contribution to the state and the rhetoric and propaganda is nothing but a handy creation of Communist manipulators. |
Vistaraks, mainly from Assam, Tripura and even outside the Northeast region. They have already started grassroot level contact programmes across all the blocks and districts. “I have been working here for the last few months. We cannot travel without pilot vehicles of the Tripura State Rifles, especially in the nights. Even our routes are being tracked by the local CPM goons. They can attack us any time,” said a Vistarak, a PhD student from Allahabad, who looks after the district under which Dhanpur, the home constituency of Manik Sarkar falls. Undoubtedly, these outsiders are facing life-threats from the violent CPM cadres, that is evident from series of murders in recent times.
Tortured, |
“As of now, the state has no industries or good education system. In Tripura, it was the political strategy of the CPM to force the people to live in abysmal poverty so that they could build a cadre structure here as there are no jobs left for them. They made it sure that the budding generation is not getting quality education. They have deliberately cultivated the unemployment and poverty to cling to power. That is backlashing the CPM as such vicious tactics would not help any party in the long run. We have a vision and a comprehensive plan in place for the state of Tripura,” said Biplab Kumar Deb, a promising young leader of BJP who has recently been elevated as the State president.
Muslims joined BJP: Denied entry |
With Congress and Trinamool Congress vanishing from the
political arena of Tripura, the BJP has won the hearts of the masses as its present leadership has succeeded to give hope and confidence to common people. The conviction and constructive ideas of the present leadership have caught the imagination of the people who rendered hopeless under the CPM rule. Attributing the achievements to the national leadership Biplab Deb added, “It is all because of the strong and visionary leadership of our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and the party president Shri Amit Shah”.
“Ours is an inclusive development model for Tripura. The benefit of development should reach out to our brethren living in the tribal area who are the most neglected populace in the state. When the BJP comes to power, we will endeavour to establish bamboo-based industries across the state that has a lot of potential in the State. The CPM and its trade union CITU have devastated all such small and medium scale industries. We will have to rejuvenate those and usher in new ones,” Biplab Deb added.
Demystifying ‘Sarkar’
Apathy in the education sector and healthcare is apparent in all constituencies including that of the Chief Minister Manik Sarkar. “In the government hospital here, a large portion of the ground floor has been encroached by the CPM and the portion is functioning as the CPM office. We do not have a degree college here. We are forced to drink contaminated water which is brown in colour because of high iron presence,” says a resident of Dhanpur. He is running a tea stall in Dhanpur city where one cannot find a good restaurant or even a public toilet.
There has been a spate of scams and allegations which unmasked Manik Sarkar who had been hailed as a Communist demigod, a prophet of ‘Communist way of simple life’. Last year, the Supreme Court cancelled the appointment of more than 10,000 government school teachers in Tripura. While passing harsh remarks on the irregularities found in the process, the Apex Court said appropriate recruitment procedures had not been followed. Following the incident, the BJP has called for the resignation of Chief Minister Manik Sarkar on corruption charges.
Political violence, blatant corruption from top to bottom level and crime against women run rampant in the state. Quoting the recently released data of National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), the BJP Mahila Morcha president Vijaya Rahatkar said that Tripura, which has a very small population in comparison to other big states, has the highest crime rate against women in the country. She said, “Though according to the report published by the NCRB 2016—in crime against women Tripura stands at 14 but in comparison to the small population the crime rate is very high” Interestingly, the Communist-ruled Tripura has only 24 per cent conviction rate which is the lowest in the country. The opposition is citing this as the main reason for the sharp rise in crime in the state. In the last few months, four innocent tribal girls have been raped and murdered. According to the parents of the two of the victims, the perpetrators have close connections with the CPM leadership. Even though the victims also are the CPM sympathisers, the party stands with the rapists who belong to the top class of the society.
The state-sponsored political violence is also a point of discussion in the on-going election campaign. The BJP leaders are alleging that the CPM is importing its ‘Kannur Model’ of political murders from Kerala to Tripura. In this year alone, the BJP has lost its seven diligent workers to the swords of CPM. “Panicked CPM is resorting to the violence and using politics of intimidation and murder to contain the rapid growth of the BJP,” said Sunil Deodhar.
The law and order of the state has crumbled to such an extent that journalists from outside the state cannot travel even in broad daylight without armed police protection. The champions of freedom of press and freedom of expression in Delhi, the CPM leaders ostensibly instigate their cadres to unleash violence on media persons. In the recent incidents of the murders of two journalists, the state police have failed to investigate the cases. Not a single culprit has been arrested in the cases.
The BJP, the only nationalist party in the country which proved mettle in other Northeastern states including neighbouring Assam, sheds a ray of hope for the people of Tripura. The massive turn out in the Amit Shah’s rally held in Udaipur has panicked the CPM camp as it sent a clear signal of the changing political scenario. Thousands of local people had congregated in an election rally in Dhanpur, Manik Sarkar’s home constituency, which was addressed by the trinity of nationalist leadership in Tripura, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Biplab Deb and Sunil Deodhar. It also affirms that the change of wind that has taken the rest of Northeast by storm, is now blowing across Tripura also.
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