A day after the Election Commission announced the schedule for parliamentary elections, Tripura’s CPM-led Left Front has announced Rajendra Reang as the Opposition INDIA bloc’s candidate for the East Tripura seat, reserved for Scheduled Tribes. The Left Front’s announcement came on Sunday, a fortnight after the ruling BJP named its first candidate, former chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb for the West Tripura seat. “We are going through a tough time. Hindutva hardliners and corporate lackeys are running the country and public life is under the attack of economic disparity, unemployment etc. The Constitution is under attack. The secular and federal structure of our country is under attack under the NDA government at the Centre led by PM Modi,” Left Front convener Narayan Kar told reporters. He said the Supreme Court and a majority of media organisations were equally under attack and that India was hurtling towards fascist rule. Rajendra Reang, a CPM state committee member, was elected as the MLA from the Kanchanpur Assembly constituency in 2018. He had also served as an executive member in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council. His father Sarbajoy Reang was killed by insurgents. CPM secretary Jitendra Chaudhary said that state Congress president Ashish Kumar Saha would contest the other Lok Sabha seat in the state, West Tripura, as the INDIA candidate. “We will fight to ensure victory in both seats. We will soon chalk out our campaign with the Congress and local political parties to unite forces against the BJP and its NDA allies,” he said. Chaudhary said the INDIA bloc would win if free and fair elections are held. Questions for Motha on tripartite agreement and CAA Chaudhary also made a sharp attack on TIPRA Motha for its past “clandestine drama” with the BJP, which he said had been exposed after the tribal party joined the state government. He said his party would reach out to disgruntled supporters of the BJP and Motha as well. He questioned the grounds on which the tripartite agreement was signed between the central and state governments and the TIPRA Motha, asking how the tribal party "backed down" from its core statehood demand without any specific mention in the tripartite accord. He alleged that the accord was only an excuse for Motha to join the government. The BJP has fielded Motha founder Pradyot Kishore’s sister Kriti Singh Debbarma in East Tripura. Chaudhary said the people committed a “mistake” by supporting the BJP in the 2018 Assembly, which saw the Left Front losing power after decades, and that the unemployed youth were suffering the consequences now. On the electoral bonds, Chaudhury said the central government was trying to divert public attention through the Citizenship Amendment Act. He also questioned TIPRA Motha’s “silence” on the matter, despite its previous hard opposition to the law. Responding to allegations from the BJP and Motha about the CPM joining hands with the Congress despite having been bitter rivals in the past, Chaudhury said, “We have fought against each other. The Congress was our sole opponent in the past. There was no other party. But today when the Constitution, secularism and federalism are about to collapse at the hands of the BJP, we had to come together.” ‘Expose on PM Cares fund awaited’ Chaudhary said thousands of crores of money was amassed illegally by the BJP through electoral bonds and that an expose on Narendra Modi’s PM Cares fund was awaited. Left Front convener Narayan Kar said the Election Commission should ensure a conducive environment for free and fair elections. “The ECI should ensure that all electors can cast their vote in a free and fair manner and that all parties are seen with an unbiased outlook,” he said. Chaudhary cited past instances of malpractices and demanded the commission should ensure no rigging, booth jamming and misuse of money and muscle powers occur in the elections this time. “Tripura holds the record for the highest number of instances of repolling (held in 2019) since Parliamentary polls started in the country in 1952. The entire poll process was reduced to a farce. It is therefore natural to have suspicion towards the role of the ECI. We still repose our faith in the commission since the CEC has assured that action will be taken against undue use of money, muscle and misinformation as well as model code of conduct violations,” he said. He also said none from the commission or the chief electoral officer had met political parties over the elections. Ramnagar Assembly bypoll Kar said Ratan Das would be the Opposition candidate for the Ramnagar Assembly bypoll. Das served as an MLA till 2018. Left Front leaders also alleged that a lot of corruption was taking place in the state government. “Corruption and the BJP are synonymous. We want a cure for this. The administration is not impartial. There is no law and order. A jungle raj is going on. Tripura is in a shameful position now including in law and order, safety of women and secularism,” a Left leader said.
