Three-way fight will help Left-Congress alliance in Tripura polls: Sitaram Yechury

In 2018, the BJP had stormed to power, gobbling up most of the Congress vote that in 2013 was nearly 37% and partially into the CPI(M)’s vote bank, which was 48% in 2013

The three-cornered fight that is unfolding in the tiny but politically crucial State of Tripura will help the Left-Congress alliance in the upcoming Assembly elections, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said.

The Communist leader told PTI that local-level leaders will make an assessment to see “who is best able to defeat the BJP”, while looking at possible adjustments with other parties (such as Tipra Motha) in the run up to the polls slated for February 16.

“The BJP [and its ally IPFT] had won 18 seats in the last elections out of 20 seats in the tribal areas,” pointed out Mr. Yechury.

Also Read | Tripura polls: TIPRA anxiety for Left-Congress combine 

In the 60-member Tripura Assembly, 20 seats are reserved for tribal areas. The BJP had won a total of 36 seats to form a government in 2018, with half of them coming from the tribal region.

“This time the Tipra Motha is at the forefront in tribal areas. The IPFT is now just a rump and BJP has given them only 5 seats. The advantage that BJP got last time won’t be repeated. That should help the Left-Congress alliance,” he explained.

Analysts here tend to agree with CPI(M)’s assessment that with the rise of the Tipra Motha, a party founded by Pradyut Kishore Manikya Debbarma, a scion of the former royal family of the State and a Tripuri, BJP’s vote and seat share in tribal areas will be drastically reduced.