TRIPURA Chief Minister and CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Manik Sarkar addressed five huge rallies in Lower Assam on April 3 and 4 in support of party candidates from Bijni, Abhayapuri North, Sorbhog, Nalbari and Rangia Assembly constituencies. While top leaders of bourgeoisie parties such as BJP and Congress were travelling to places in helicopters to address rallies, Sarkar, despite being a Chief Minister, went for election campaign by travelling in trains which found some space in otherwise anti-Left electronic media. On April 3, Sarkar addressed a rally in Bijni at around 11 am in support of candidates for Bijni and Abhayapuri North constituencies Gajen Barman and Taren Ray, respectively.

He attacked both Congress and BJP for their anti-people policies. The focal point of his speech was the necessity of building a Left alternative in the state as well as in the country. By highlighting the achievements of the Left Front government in Tripura, he underlined that the BJP is not an alternative to the Congress and the Congress is not an alternative to the BJP. The real alternative for the common people are the Left parties which take the fight from the streets to Assemblies and Parliament. The meeting was presided over by senior party leader Mahodar Pathak and was addressed by CPI(M) state secretary Deben Bhattacharya, former MLA Hemen Das and former MP Uddhab Barman among others.

On the same day at 3 pm, Sarkar addressed a rally of more than ten thousand people at the historic Gandhi Hall of Sorbhog. Satyabati Bhuyan, senior party leader and former chairperson of Sorbhog town committee, presided over the meeting. The meeting was also addressed by Hemen Das, four times MLA from Sorbhog and party candidate Manoranjan Talukdar among others.

In his speech, Sarkar said that in Assam, BJP is working hard to cash in on the failures and corruption of the Congress government. But the track record of the Modi government is a bitter experience so far. Under the BJP rule, the country is being communalised and fascist tendencies are increasing. In such a situation, the Left is the real alternative before the people. The next meeting took place at Barpeta Road in the Sorbhog constituency. The party decided to organise two large rallies simultaneously at Sorbhog and Barpeta Road to show the strength of the party to the opponents who are misleading the people. Both the rallies were equally successful and the presence of Sarkar galvanised the spirit of party workers and supporters. Senior party leader and president of the election committee Parimal Majumdar presided over the rally held at Bhupen Hazarika field at Barpeta Road.

On April 4, Sarkar addressed his first rally at Nalbari in support of party candidate Maheshwar Dutta. The Nalbari Assembly seat was won by CPI (M) in 1978 but due to the anti-foreigners movement of 1979-1985, the party organisation suffered a setback in this area. Several party workers were killed in this district during the Assam movement. However, in the last few years, the party has been reorganising itself. The organisation among construction workers and other unorganised sectors is gradually advancing. The party has put up a CITU leader as the candidate this time. The large gathering at Nalbari Natya Mandir was presided over by party leader Rajen Barua, a retired college principal.

On the same day, a rally of several thousand people was held in Rangiya. The Rangiya Assembly seat is also considered an important seat for the Left as the CPI(M) candidate won this seat three times in 1978, 1983 and 2006. Former MLA Ananta Deka, who won the seat in 2006, is contesting for a fourth time. In his speech here, Sarkar came down heavily on both the BJP and the Congress and criticised their policies. The meeting was presided over by Birendra Nath Sarma. Before the meeting, a procession of over ten thousand people crisscrossed the streets of Rangiya town.