The three-cornered fight that is unfolding in the tiny but politically crucial state of Tripura will help the Left-Congress alliance in the upcoming assembly elections, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said.
The Communist leader told PTI that local-level leaders will make an assessment to see 바카라who is best able to defeat the BJP바카라, while looking at possible adjustments with other parties (such as Tipra Motha) in the run up to the polls slated for February 16.
바카라The BJP (and its ally IPFT) had won 18 seats in the last elections out of 20 seats in the tribal areas,바카라 pointed out Yechury.
In the 60-member Tripura assembly, 20 seats are reserved for tribal areas. The BJP had won a total of 36 seats to form a government in 2018, with half of them coming from the tribal region.
바카라This time the Tipra Motha is at the forefront in tribal areas. The IPFT is now just a rump and BJP has given them only five seats. The advantage that BJP got last time won바카라t be repeated. That should help the Left-Congress alliance,바카라 he explained.
Analysts here tend to agree with CPI(M)바카라s assessment that with the rise of the Tipra Motha, a party founded by Pradyut Kishore Manikya Debbarma, a scion of the former royal family of the state and a Tripuri, BJP바카라s vote and seat share in tribal areas will be drastically reduced.
In the last elections, BJP had a 43.59 per cent vote share compared to CPI(M)바카라s 42.22 per cent and Congress바카라s couple of percentage points.
바카라We will gain from it,바카라 asserted Yechury.
In 2018, the BJP had stormed to power, gobbling up most of the Congress vote that in 2013 was nearly 37 per cent and partially into the CPI(M)바카라s vote bank, which was 48 per cent in 2013.
With the expected reduction in tribal votes (which accounts for nearly a third of the state바카라s total) for the BJP, the Left believes the alliance led by it stands to gain an advantage in the forthcoming elections.
The elections to this tiny state바카라s assembly are considered important as political pundits see the possibility of a tough contest between the ruling party and the Opposition, the first in a year of polls to elect state governments.
Till 2018, the electoral contest in the state was largely between the Congress and CPI(M), with smaller tribal parties playing minor but at times crucial roles.
With both the erstwhile Maharaja and Maharani, having been Congress MPs (Kirit Bikram Kishore Manikya Deb Barman Bahadur won three terms in Lok Sabha - 1967, 1977 and 1989 - while his wife Bibhu Kumari Devi won in 1981), the grand old party had a strong presence in the tribal belt.
However, legendary tribal Communist leaders like Dasarath Debbarma, who became a popular chief minister of the state and Jitendra Choudhury, a possible Left candidate for chief ministership in this election, have ensured that the CPI(M), too, has a huge presence in the tribal belt where Tripuris, Reangs, Jamatias, Chakmas, Mogs, Kuki and others live.
바카라At the ground level, who will be able to defeat the BJP, that assessment will be made by ground-level leaders,바카라 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.
바카라That 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),바카라 he said, without committing to any further elaboration on ground-level adjustments that may be made.
He also explained the visible resurgence of the CPI(M) as a result of among other things, his party바카라s 바카라consistent opposition to repression unleashed바카라 by the BJP government.
바카라CPI(M) was the most consistent in opposing the repression unleashed on the people and that has been recognised by the people,바카라 Yechury said.
He also added that the 바카라people have realised the necessity of unifying all secular and democratic forces in order to ensure the BJP government is removed바카라.
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.
Hammer and sickle red flags dotting the countryside, convoys of trucks and motorcycles ferrying supporters of the SFI (the Communist students바카라 wing) and CPI(M) activists wearing red t-shirts are part of the landscape.
Speaking on the possibility of post-poll negotiations, Yechury said, 바카라Let us see바카라 the first battle to be won is on the 16th (February, the election date). The second battle will emerge on March 2 (counting day). That we will meet then바카라바카라
