Another sarkar for Manik in Tripura

“Our successive victories have been difficult,we have been fighting insurgency for a long time. We have fought them on all fronts — political,administrative and from the development angle. Thus,a state which was once synonymous with terrorism saw a record voter turnout of over 93 per cent this time. And the turnout of women voters was simply unprecedented,” said Sarkar.

Asked about Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s campaign in the state,Sarkar said: “He was our guest. Our people did go to see him. But when it came to votes,the people pressed the right button.”

While the CPI(M)’s share has gone up from 46 seats in 2008 to 49,the Left Front’s tally has increased from 49 in the last House to 50. “Our vote share has also gone up by about three per cent,” said Sarkar,who has been elected to the Assembly for the seventh time.

Unlike elsewhere,there was no bursting of crackers at the CPI(M) headquarters at Melarmath,in the heart of Agartala. “It is definitely a landslide victory,and everybody is happy,especially the common people. But this victory was expected. Our respect for democratic rights of the people and fulfilling their urge for development has paid dividends. The victory is not ours,it is the people’s victory,” said Sarkar.

In Dhanpur,the Chief Minister’s constituency,however,there have been celebrations,with party workers distributing sweets and bringing out processions. “Didn’t I tell you Manik babu is different? He may be the poorest chief minister in terms of money,but when it comes to winning the hearts of the people,he is the richest,” said Noni Paul,Sarkar’s election agent.

While filing his nomination for the 2013 polls,Sarkar declared personal assets of just Rs 10,800. He does not own a house,plot of land or a car. In fact,Sarkar donates his entire salary and allowances to the party,and gets Rs 5,000 as subsistence allowance. His wife,Panchali Bhattacharjee,a retired central government employee,however,declared Rs 24,52,395 in her bank account,most of it coming from her retirement benefits.

Asked if the Left Front in Tripura is different from that in West Bengal and Kerala,where it lost the elections just a couple of years back,Sarkar replied: “No,the Left is the same across the country. While we have been handling our typical situation,our comrades have been handling their respective situations in West Bengal and Kerala.”

Tripura has registered significant growth among the small states,with even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dubbing it as the best-governed state.

Referring to the 2014 polls,Sarkar added that the Tripura results will “definitely contribute towards shaping the future of the Left and democratic movement in the country”.

Meanwhile,for the Congress it was the worst-ever election,with the Cong-INPT alliance touching an all-time low of 10 seats. The Congress bagged all the 10 seats,as the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripera suffered a total wipeout.