Tripura: NDA Storms Back In Close Fight
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
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By Linus Garg
First publised on 2023-03-02 07:54:15
About the Author
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
View all posts by this Author
Although
the BJP-led alliance is likely to cross the half-way mark and will, in all
probability, form the government again, the Tripura elections have been closer
than what the exit polls had suggested. With renewed support for the Left,
which is aligned this time with the Congress (which has also done well, given
that it was totally decimated last time) and debutant Tipra Motha performing
well as expected, there were close fights in all seats. The Trinamool Congress,
which fielded candidates in 28 seats, in not likely to win any.
While the
Left, in alliance with the Congress, seems to have held on to its bastions,
the BJP-IPFT alliance has suffered reverses at the hands of Tipra Motha which
is poised to gain all the seats the NDA is expected to lose. This is a huge win
for the new party which had spurned advances from both the NDA and the Left to
align with them. With this performance, the Motha has cemented its place in
Tripura's polity and is likely to emerge as a stronger force in the years to
come.
While the
BJP might claim that its performance means that it is a pro-incumbency vote,
the fact remains that the tribal vote has swung from away from its ally, the
IPFT, to the Tipra Motha. This fact was proved in the Tripura Tribal Areas
Autonomous District Council elections in 2021 when the Motha won 18 seats and
the NDA alliance only 9. The BJP had then unsuccessfully tried to form an
alliance with the Motha. There are 20 seats in the state where the tribal vote
can swing the result.
With the
Tipra Motha charting an independent course, elections in Tripura will
henceforth be three-cornered if the Left-Congress alliance continues or
four-cornered if it breaks as Congress will then contest on its own. The TMC,
it seems, has thrown the towel for now and is not taking Tripura seriously. In
the event of division in opposition votes, the NDA will have it easy but if the
Tipra Motha forms an alliance with the Left, it will seriously challenge the
NDA in future.
