CPI(M), Congress call for unified Opposition in Tripura, Trinamool keeps mum

Communist Party of India (Marxist) echoed the Indian National Congress’s recommendation that all Opposition parties must unite in Tripura to oust the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The CPI(M), which is the principal opposition party in the state, called for an united Opposition to stand against the BJP and its tribal ally, Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), in the Assembly elections slated for early next year.

The Left party stressed that the unity of the Opposition was a must to prevent the division of the anti-BJP votes, and thereby stop the right-wing party from getting its second term in Tripura.

“There is a complete breakdown of the law-and-order situation in the state. BJP workers have been repeatedly attacking members and supporters of all Opposition parties, while the police have remained a mute spectator. The divided Opposition voices over developmental issues have also remained neglected. So, it is high time the opposition parties unite and give BJP a fitting reply in the elections,” a CPI(M) leader told DH on Thursday.

Read | TMC removes Tripura state party President ahead of Assembly polls

In a letter to Tripura Director General of Police on Wednesday, senior CPI(M) leader Manik Dey, and three other leaders, alleged that all major offices of the Left parties were attacked by the BJP workers, since the saffron party came to power in 2018.

Dey also pointed out that the results of the by-polls for four Assembly seats in June also highlighted the need for Opposition’s unity. The BJP won three seats while Congress won just one.

Soon after the by-poll results, senior Congress leader and MLA Sudip Roy Barman called for a united Opposition in the state, and announced that he would reach out to all the Opposition parties in the state to stand together in the fight against BJP.

All India Trinamool Congress and Tipra Motha, a forum of tribal parties, however, were yet to make any move for unity of the Opposition. The Trinamool, which set its eyes to wrest power from the BJP in Tripura in 2023, seemed to be struggling to build its base in the state.

The party sacked its state unit president, Subal Bhowmick, on Wednesday citing that he failed to build the party in the state and prepare it for the Assembly elections. The move was also accelerated as there were reports that Bhowmick could soon join the BJP.

Tipra Motha chairman Pradyot Manikya Debbarma had already stated that his party would join hands with any group agreeing to its demand for a separate state for indigenous Tripuris (or Tipras). Both CPI(M) and the Congress were not in favour of a separate state.

Tipra Motha was in power at the Tripura Tribal Autonomous District Council—20 out of the state’s Assembly seats come under this area. Political insiders believed that Tipra Motha, which has gained strength in the past few months, particularly among the tribals, could pose a serious threat to the IPFT.