A lonely race for CPM in Tripura as ‘allies’ Cong, Motha keep their distance

The BJP has fielded Tafajjal Hossain from Boxanagar and Bindu Debnath from Dhanpur. The CPI(M) has fielded Mijan Hussein, the son of Shamsul Haque, from Boxanagar and Kaushik Chanda in Dhanpur.

Differences in alliance

That there were differences between the three-party alliance has been visible since their first strategy meeting for the bypolls, which are scheduled for September 5. On August 12, a day after their initial discussion, the CPI(M) announced candidates in both the seats on its own. The Congress and Motha leaders have since been hitting out at the CPI(M) for selecting a candidate without mutual consensus.

The BJP has been going all out in its campaign, bringing in Chief Minister Manik Saha, BJP president Rajib Bhattacharjee, and Bhowmik to speak of its “double engine government” model. It has also been criticising the Opposition for not being able to come together.

For the CPI(M), the support from its allies, particularly the TIPRA Motha, could prove to be critical, considering the close margins from previous Assembly elections. The CPI(M) and the Congress had fought the Assembly election together this February.

In the Assembly elections held earlier this year, Bhoumik was pitted against the CPI(M)’s Kaushik Chanda and won with a narrow margin of 3,500 votes. Haque defeated Hossain with a margin of 4,849 votes at Boxanagar.

The TIPRA Motha secured 3,010 votes in Boxanagar and 8,671 votes in Dhanpur, indicating the difference it can make.

On Tuesday, in an effort to rally the support of the Congress and Motha, CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury held a meeting with them. The TIPRA Motha conveyed that it would take 48 hours to take a call on whether it would support the Left or not, but that period has ended and it has not indicated its support so far.

The Congress also sought time, but said it was following the I.N.D.I.A. alliance’s nationwide strategy.

“We shall decide whether we will campaign in favour of the Left. Since their candidates were announced without consulting with us, it is not a unified Opposition candidate. We shall decide in a day or two,” state Congress chief Ashish Kumar Saha said.

The failure to come together could further complicate matters for the Congress and the CPI(M) in light of the larger I.N.D.I.A alliance.

A source in the Congress said that the CPI(M)’s move “to announce a candidate while discussions were still underway was damaging to the prospects of a larger Opposition unity”.

But the Congress’s own ranks are not together on the issue. Several members of the party have started campaigning for the CPI(M) candidate in some areas.