The Left Front has released its list of candidates for the election to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) and the by-election to the Dharmanagar Assembly constituency even before the announcement of the poll schedule. The list was announced at a press conference held at Dasharath Deb Smriti Bhavan by Manik Dey, convenor of the Tripura Left Front Committee, on March 9. CPI(M) Tripura State Committee Secretary Jitendra Chaudhury, CPI State Secretary Milan Baidya, and RSP State Secretary Dipak Deb also addressed the press.

The Left leadership appealed to the people in the ADC areas and Dharmanagar to come forward courageously and exercise their voting rights. They called upon voters to strengthen the struggle against anarchy, restore democracy, and re-establish people’s rights. They demanded that the State Election Commission play an effective role in ensuring free and fair elections and that the government perform its responsibilities impartially, rising above partisan considerations.

Manik Dey said the ADC itself was the result of struggles led by the Left Front and mass movements. The Left Front-run ADC had worked with a vision of overall development in tribal areas. According to him, whenever forces other than the Left Front ran the ADC administration, they created disturbances, and the Tipra Motha is running it in the same manner now. With the ADC elections approaching, the Left Front will contest vigorously. Explaining the importance of the upcoming election, he said the BJP and the Tipra Motha are partners in the coalition government in the state, and the Tipra Motha runs the ADC administration. Together they have created an atmosphere of disorder in the state. Corruption and misuse of development funds are rampant. ADC employees are not receiving salaries on time, and retired employees are not getting pensions and other benefits. There are numerous complaints about the current ADC administration. The condition of ordinary people has not improved, while a handful of leaders have become extremely wealthy. Public resentment and protests over ADC functioning are increasing.

Dey further said the Tipra Motha has failed to fulfil any of the promises made in the previous ADC election. Education and health systems in ADC areas have collapsed and roads are in poor condition. Many schools have been shut down by the state government and the ADC administration. He said the Left Front government and the Left-run ADC had always prioritised education, but the present state government and the ADC administration have pushed the education system to the brink of destruction.

Referring to incidents of starvation, hunger deaths, and even cases of families selling children, Dey said it has been proven that the Left Front remains the only reliable force for the people of the state. According to him, only the Left Front can protect the state and the ADC from chaos and restore an atmosphere of peace, harmony, and development.

Jitendra Chaudhury alleged that to build support for the ruling party in the ADC election, the chief minister is distributing yarn, blankets, water drums, and other materials using government funds and other means for party propaganda. The Tipra Motha is also doing the same. Both parties claim they will win all 28 seats. As the term of the current ADC is about to complete five years, the chief minister has begun saying there has been no development in the ADC in order to promote the BJP ahead of the election. Chaudhury said the Tipra Motha has hollowed out the ADC, a claim that CPI(M) and the Left Front have been making for a long time with evidence. He further said the Tipra Motha has turned Khumulwng into a “crematorium.” Earlier similar situations were created by TUJS in 1990 and INPT in 2000. Now, he said, a section of tribal people’s emotions and affection is being used in the name of “Thansa.” Their current activities are far removed from the objectives with which the ADC was formed.

Chaudhury also pointed out that despite five years of alleged irregularities, the chief minister had not spoken about them until now, nor had the tribal welfare minister said anything. Now the chief minister is speaking about corruption in the ADC run by the Tipra Motha, while the ADC administration is accusing the state government of not releasing its due funds. Both parties are partners in the government, yet they are blaming each other ahead of the election. According to him, this is mere theatrics — a fight over the share of loot.

Chaudhury said that in the past eight years the people of Dharmanagar have suffered violence. Offices of Opposition political parties have been attacked and offices of employees’ organisations forcibly occupied. Terror and physical assaults continue. Dharmanagar, he alleged, is being used as a laboratory to sustain power through authoritarian and fascist methods. The Left Front wants to free the people of Dharmanagar from this situation.

For the by-election, Amitabh Dutta, a member of the CPI(M) State Secretariat, has been nominated as the Left Front candidate. Dutta has been brutally attacked four times and he narrowly escaped death.

Among the 27 candidates announced for the ADC election, 21 are new faces. Of them, 25 are from the CPI(M), and one each from the CPI and the RSP. The All India Forward Bloc will announce its candidate for the Machmara seat later.

CPI(M) candidates:

Damchhara–Jampui — Barendra Reang (new),

Kanchanpur — Ramakanta Nath (new),

Karamchhara — Sadhan Chakma (new),

Demchhara–Kachuchhara — Badarbhom Halam,

Chhamanu — Khushiram Tripura (new),

Manu–Chailengta — Rahul Das (new),

Raima Valley — Sumati Ranjan Chakma (new),

Gandachhara–Ganganagar — Dhanchamani Reang (new),

Asharambari–Halhuli — Karim Debbarma (new),

Kulai–Champahaur — Atul Debbarma (new),

Teliamura–Maharani — Ratan Kishore Jamatia (new),

Ramchandraghat — Samaresh Debbarma (new),

Mandai–Pulinpur — Surya Debbarma (new),

Jirania — Radhacharan Debbarma,

Simna–Tamakari — Amulya Debbarma (new),

Bodhjungnagar–Wakinagar — Sanjit Debbarma (new),

Pekuarjala–Janmejoynagar — Brajakumar Debbarma (new),

Takarjala–Jampuijala — Benilal Debbarma (new),

Amtali–Golaghati — Brinda Debbarma (new),

Bagma — Amrit Sadhan Jamatia,

Notunbazar–Malbasa — Magendra Reang,

Ompi — Prithviraj Koloi (new),

Kathalia–Mirza–Rajapur — Parikshit Mura Sing,

Purba Muhuripur–Bhuratali — Barjung Tripura (new)

Shilachhari–Manu Bankul — Uchathoi Mog

CPI candidate:

Birchandra–Kalsi — Narendra Reang (new)

RSP candidate:

Maharani–Chelagang — Haradhan Jamatia