December 20, 2015
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Left Sweeps Municipal Polls in Tripura, Wins All 19 Local Bodies

Rahul Sinha

THE Left Front swept the municipal elections in Tripura, winning all the 19 urban local bodies -- Agartala Municipal Corporation, 13 municipal councils and five nagar panchayats -- that went to poll on December 9. The Left Front has wrest control of Ambassa Municipal Council in northern Tripura and Sabroom Nagar panchayat in south that were won last time by the Congress.

The results, announced on December 12, showed that the people living in urban areas have reposed their faith again in the Left Front. Out of the 49 wards of Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC), the Left Front won in 45, with Congress bagging only four. In the last election, the Left Front could win 27 out of the 35 wards. Sitting mayor of AMC Prafullajit Sinha won with a handsome margin of 2,200 votes, whereas the mayoral candidate of Congress and two of their sitting councillors faced defeat.

The opposition could not win a single ward in the municipal councils of Belonia, Santirbazar, Melaghar, Mohanpur, Ranirbazar, Teliamurra and Khowai. It also drew a blank in the nagar panchayats of Sabroom, Kamalpur, Amarpur and Panisagar. As the results were declared, the Left Front activists and supporters came out in the streets in a jubilant mood.

Out of the 310 seats of the urban local bodies, the Left Front won 291, Congress 13, BJP four and others two seats. Out of the 291 wards won by the Left Front, CPI(M) candidates were victorious in 278 seats, CPI five, RSP six, and AIFB two. The Left Front had won uncontested in all the 11 seats of Jirania Nagar panchayat, six out of the 11 seats of Amarpur Nagar panchayat and two seats of the 15-member Khowai Municipal Council.

The Left Front won in 93.87 percent of the wards. Trinamool Congress could not win a single ward. However, the BJP has made inroads into Dharmanagar Municipal Council and Kumarghat Municipal Council, winning two wards each. Apart from a substantial shift of votes from the Congress to the BJP, what other factors helped the saffron outfit’s victory in these areas needs a serious introspection. It is clear from the number of wards won by the Left Front that a majority of people from all the sections have voted for it. The polling on December 9 was completely peaceful with a mood of festivity. A huge turnout of 88.9 percent was recorded.

In a press conference, Left Front convenor Khagen Das conveyed gratitude and congratulations to the electorate and the people of the state for this huge mandate in favour of the Left Front. This huge victory, he said, is a clear message to the entire country that the Left and democratic forces are the only real alternative to the people. This victory has made it clear that the people have supported the call of the Left Front for all-round development of the state, maintaining peace and tranquility. This is also a befitting reply to the anti-people policies of the Modi government and the RSS’ divisive agenda of Hindu Rashtra, Das said. The Left Front convenor said the people have voted on the basis of their experience and sustained efforts of the Front for overall development of the state. The Congress, which has been badly defeated in this election, has done nothing for the development of the state and has been duly punished. However, Das warned against the divisive politics of the BJP and the slogan of a separate state by the IPFT and called for maintaining peace and harmony at any cost.

The newly-elected urban bodies led by the Left Front will continue to work for the overall development of the people despite their financial limitation, deciding their priority with people’s advice and guidance and with the help of Left Front government of the state, he said. He was accompanied by CPI(M) state secretary Bijan Dhar, AIFB state president Brajagopal Ray, CPI state secretary Ranjit Majumder and RSP leader Dipak Deb.

In a separate message, CPI(M ) Polit Bureau member and Chief Minister Manik Sarkar also expressed gratitude to the electorate for supporting the Left Front. He said the elections were held in the backdrop of a very complex political situation prevailing in the country and this huge victory of the Left Front is no doubt very significant. The largest section of the electorate by electing the Left Front has reposed their faith in the pro-people policies and the ongoing programmes of the Left Front government, aimed at a holistic development of the state. It is only natural, therefore, that with this victory, the responsibility of the Left Front and the Left Front government of Tripura has further increased. The Left Front and the state government must play a more responsible role for people's welfare and the development of the state. “We must be cautious against any kind of complacency or self-boasting. There are tons of works to be done and we must do it taking the masses with us with utmost humility and tolerance,” Sarkar said. 

The final vote share is yet to be released by the state election commission. But from the figures available with the CPl(M) for 16 urban bodies including Agartala Municipal Corporation, it is evident that the vote share of the Left Front has increased substantially compared to the last municipal elections. The Left Front got an average of little more than 66 percent votes. This was around 61 percent last time. In Agartala Municipal Corporation, Left Front got 57.36 percent votes. This was 52.57 percent in the last election. Congress' vote share has gone down significantly from 45.55 percent to 26.34 percent in Agartala. But the vote share of the BJP has increased at the cost of the Congress from a mere 1.88 percent to 14.1 percent in Agartala.