Tripura Elections: Arduous Fight to Restore Democracy
Jitendra Chaudhury
ELECTIONS to Tripura assembly were held on February 16 and the results were declared on March 2, along with Meghalaya and Nagaland, where elections were held on February 27.
The Tripura results reveal that in the 60-member legislative assembly, BJP-led ruling alliance got a thin majority – winning 33 seats. They lost 11 seats which they secured in the 2018 election. The CPI(M) won in 11 seats, witnessing a reduction of 5 seats it had won in 2018 (when there was a direct contest between the Left Front and the BJP alliance). The Congress and Tipra Motha gained 3 and 13 seats respectively, while they had no seats earlier.
The vote share of the BJP alliance declined to 40 per cent from 51 per cent in 2018. Left Front’s average vote share in the seats they had contested is 35 per cent and of the total votes, its share declined to 27 per cent from 44 per cent it had secured in the last assembly elections. The Left and Congress jointly secured 35.46 per cent votes. The newly formed Tipra Motha secured around 20 per cent votes, largely encroaching on the Left Front vote, mostly in tribal areas. The outcome of the election clearly shows that 60 per cent of the total electors rejected the BJP. This is a big rejection of the five years torturous rule of the BJP, which has managed to technically win a majority of seats, but not peoples’ mandate.
The results reveal that in 19 seats (17 general and 2 ST reserved seats) Tipra Motha split the opposition vote and helped the BJP win with a margin that is smaller than the votes Tipra Motha candidates polled.
These elections came at the end of five years of the fascistic rule of the BJP-IPFT alliance, which has witnessed the murder of democracy, day-in day-out. Every single office of the opposition political parties and mass organisations in the state, including the state headquarters of CPI(M) and Congress was attacked several times. More than seven hundred offices were bulldozed, vandalised, gutted or forcefully occupied by the ruling party.
Attacks on civil and constitutional rights was rampant since the first day the BJP-IPFT alliance assumed office. Till the model code of conduct was imposed by the Election Commission of India (ECI), democratic activities were prohibited in almost half the areas of the state, due to the brutal attacks of the goons sheltered by the ruling dispensation. There were more than 9,000 such incidents, which have taken 24 lives and injured 3,713 men and women. But, there was not a single arrest made or a process for the prosecution of the offenders initiated. On the contrary, hundreds of opposition activists, including CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Manik Sarkar, and state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury were booked under false cases. Indiscriminate attacks upon the livelihood of common people like denying them access to MGNREGA works, suspension of government schemes sanctioned during the Left regime, arbitrary cancellation of road permits and licenses of transport workers and operators and other benefits etc., became daily features.
Every single constitutional institution was under attack. All elected members of the urban and rural local bodies, cooperative societies and even the students’ councils in the educational institutions were forced to resign or these bodies were prematurely dissolved. Elections for different bodies were not held. Tripura witnessed the highest number of booths that went to repolling in the country for the 2019 parliamentary elections. This was never witnessed since 1952 in any particular constituency. In 2020, in the three-tier panchayat elections, 96 per cent seats went uncontested. In the elections to civic bodies in 2021, it was not the voters or opposition candidates and agents, but the returning officers who were hijacked till the time for filing of nominations of the candidates was over! In the assembly by-elections held in 2022, outsiders captured the polling stations a day prior to the polling day!
It is in such a situation that the schedule for elections was announced by the ECI on January 18, 2023. Prior to the announcement of the schedule, ECI had suo moto declared a “zero poll violence mission”, which was a recognition of the prevailing grievous law and order situation of the state. The mission, though for a very brief period, has partially helped the democratic forces to carry out their activities and ensured people cast their vote. But fear of intimidation still prevails, largely due to the prolonged mental, physical and financial torture, which has impacted peoples’ decision making process. This new situation has provoked a strong urge among the public in general for the restoration of democracy and rule of law in the state.
URGE FOR DEMOCRACY AND UNITED EFFORT
As the biggest opposition party in the state, CPI(M) was well aware about the adverse impact of the split of opposition vote, from which only the BJP would benefit. The mood of the masses was understood by the Left, democratic and secular forces, which started a joint programme at the grassroots level against the onslaughts on democracy and the BJP’s misrule. Only then did the CPI(M) open up a dialogue to materialise the concept of seat-sharing with the Congress. Setting aside ideological differences, both the parties came to an understanding to fight the elections together to restore democracy and render the people of Tripura relief from the suffocating environment, where dissent is impermissible, right to vote is denied, fundamental rights, constitutional rights etc., are ignored, opposition parties are not allowed to pursue their own ideology and carry on programmes. According to this arrangement, Congress has contested 13 seats, Left parties 46 and both the Congress and Left parties supported an eminent lawyer and human rights activist in one seat.
The news of an understanding between the Left and the Congress created a renewed zeal among the anti-BJP masses throughout the state to dislodge this anti-democratic, semi-fascist, authoritarian rule and get justice delivered from the inhuman torture committed upon the opposition parties’ supporters and financial onslaughts on the common people. The election rallies conducted by the CPI(M) and the Left parties were massively attended and were much more livelier in comparison to those organised by the ruling BJP. Similarly, Tipra Motha also organised impressive rallies of the tribal people.
The Tipra Motha led by Pradyut Manikya Kishore, a royal scion, consolidated a large chunk of the tribal vote by selling the nobility of royal family and calling for an all-in tribal unity to get rid of the present repressive rule and emancipation of tribal people in general. Towards this mission, Tipra Motha has hijacked the BJP alliance partner IPFT’s slogan of Tipraland, mooted before the 2018 assembly elections. This demand is for the formation of a Greater Tipraland, a proposal for a new state. Later on, realising the impracticability of this demand, Tipra Motha has labeled this as a “constitutional solution of indigenous people’s rights”. To achieve its aim of better poll-prospects, Tipra Motha included people from different ethnic groups, particularly religious and linguistic minorities and a few by-gone leaders of different parties. While campaigning in the election, Tipra Motha scrupulously avoided references of the historic contribution of the Communist Party and the Ganamukti Parishad (GMP), firstly against the feudal exploitation and thereafter against the repressive rule of the Congress party. Thereby, a concerted attempt was crafted to polarise the vote on ethnic lines. Tipra Motha was very much successful in this mission, in the absence of a strong democratic movement due to the reign of terror unleashed by the BJP-IPFT alliance.
ANOTHER BJP GAME TO GRAB POWER
Noticing the vibrant campaign of the Left-Congress combine on the one hand among the cross-section of people and the Tipra Motha among the tribals, on the other, a perplexed BJP assumed that their electoral prospects might be bleak. Thus, they started to pamper Tipra Motha in order to get them to their fold. BJP sent a batch of Tipra Motha leaders on January 25 from Agartala to New Delhi by a chartered flight and had arranged an official meeting with the ministry of home affairs (MHA), which was a conscious and serious violation of the model code of conduct on the part of the union government, the BJP and the Tipra Motha. The national leaders of the BJP, including the union home minister Amit Shah, left no stone unturned to negotiate with Tipra Motha, which according to media reports and the Tipra Motha supremos’ own assertion after the result, stuck to the written agreement from the MHA on the formation of a ‘Greater Tipra Land’. This could not be clinched as the election process had already started and model code was in force.
The Left-democratic and secular forces repeatedly tried to persuade Tipra Motha that if they really wanted to emancipate the tribal masses, truly intend to achieve a constitutional solution, they should not forget the historic contribution of the communists for the betterment of tribals – socially, economically, politically and culturally. And unless democracy and rule of law is restored, the dream of a constitutional solution shall not be achieved. A more important hurdle is the RSS-BJP’s idea of Hindu Rashtra. Though Tripra Motha had verbally agreed with this argument, they decided to contest separately. In addition to the 20 tribal reserved seats, Tipra Motha fielded their candidates in 22 non-reserved seats, though they knew very well that none of these seats were their strongholds. The results show that BJP and Tipra Motha ratcheted this game-plan to disrupt people’s sentiment against the BJP-IPFT alliance and pave way for their return to power by splitting the vote.
TERROR AND BJP ARE SYNONYMOUS
There is not a word of condemnation of the heinous attacks unleashed upon the opposition leaders, cadres and common supporters in the name of celebration of the so-called victory.
From the moment the BJP got majority in the counting of votes, the entire state burned with unprecedented terror attacks and intimidation. In the name of victory celebrations, the ruling BJP’s unruly workers let loose unbridled attacks with unforeseen ferocity on the people, particularly targeting the leaders of opposition, workers and supporters. This resulted in the loss and destruction of large amounts of properties, physical attacks on hundreds of persons, many of whom had to undergo treatment in hospitals.
Till now there are reports of more than 1,000 such incidents, where the houses of opposition supporters have been extensively ransacked, looted and destroyed. Many houses were set on fire and fire fighters were prevented from rushing till the houses were fully gutted. On two occasions, witnessing the barbarism, three sick and aged men and woman – Sunil Das, Rabindra Das of Kakraban, Udaipur sub-division, Gomati district and Sibu Rani Laskar of Teliamura sub-division, Khowai district died of shock. In two places, domestic animals were burnt to death. To destroy the sources of income and livelihood of the people, there were many incidents like destruction of rickshaws, e-rickshaws, three-wheelers and four-wheelers etc. Many motor workers were barred to ply vehicles in the scheduled routes. Huge number of rubber plantations were either burnt or cut down. In several cases, even vegetable crops were damaged, fish ponds poisoned and looted. Hundreds of shops were ransacked, looted, locked or set on fire. In many areas, the BJP workers are extorting huge amounts of money as ransom from the supporters of opposition parties. At some places, people were forced to stay in jungle out of fear.
Many party offices of the Left parties and the Congress were demolished or set on fire. In a word, complete lawlessness is prevailing in the state from March 2. Though the police in many places are trying to take control of the situation, they do not show the inclination to arrest any perpetrator because of their attachment with the ruling BJP. In some places, the police are acting as abettors. That is why, though thousands of incidents of attacks have been reported so far, hardly there is any report of the arrest of the culprits.
Being a ruling party, BJP has the responsibility to arrest the barbaric backlash carried out on the opposition by its followers. But except a simple call to maintain peace, they did not take any proactive measure to really stop this barbarism. As the new government has not yet been formed, the leaders of the Left parties first tried to bring this to the notice of the governor. But the governor did not respond and had no time to meet the Left leaders. Then on March 5, the CPI(M) leaders met the chief secretary and handed over a list of about 668 incidents of attacks mentioning the date, place, name of victims and nature of attacks etc. The CPI(M) leaders urged the chief secretary to ensure that the administration acts to restore normalcy. Chief Minister Manik Saha may convene an all party meeting to stop these onslaughts. Next day on March 6, a delegation of the Left parties and the Congress, met the Director General of Police and handed over a list of the incidents and pressed for the following measures to control the situation:
1. Direct all the police officials to act in an unbiased manner without interference by any political personality;
2. All the incidents of attacks carried out since March 2 must be suo moto registered in the concerned police station and legal steps must be taken against all the persons named in the attacks;
3. Immediate measures should be initiated to adequately compensate the victim families along with necessary security cover.
4. District police may be directed to take initiative to create a conducive environment that poor auto-operators (owners of four-wheelers and three-wheelers etc) and shop-owners could freely resume their activities. And similar steps may be taken for the safe return of all such people who have been compelled to leave their homes due to terror and intimidation.
NEED FOR A NATIONWIDE RESISTANCE
This attack upon the people and democratic institutions in Tripura is not an isolated move of the RSS-BJP, but is a part of its long term goal of building its so-called Hindu-rashtra. Tripura is being converted as one of its laboratories, where constitutional institutions are saffronised, law-enforcing authorities are made the aides of RSS pracharaks, public funds channelised for the grooming of andh-bhakts and elections are rigged scientifically and so on. Hence to defend democracy and the constitution, a nationwide solidarity campaign has to be undertaken by disseminating information about the reality in Tripura.
