Agartala: With only weeks to go for elections, it is becoming clear that the Congress-CPIM alliance in Tripura seems much clearer in theory than in practice. With seat-sharing talks going on in Delhi, it has become clear that it will take a lot of political will, and sincere levels of austerity from both parties to ‘let go’ of power for the supposed greater good, which is, to defeat the BJP.
Insiders in both parties talked about their struggles to finalise seat-sharing arrangements, and the disagreements are now out in the open. Mrinal Banik reports
On January 25, the CPIM had convened a press conference to announce their candidate list. However, the party cancelled the briefing to get a green signal from Congress, after which Tripura Congress President Birajit Sinha left for Delhi this morning to meet with Congress leaders.
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Lots of agreement, but no common ground
A senior CPIM functionary told EastMojo, “After several sittings, the state committee decided the party shall field candidates where we have MLAs. The question of sacrificing seats from where we have elected legislators does not arise because the party is confident of retaining those constituencies with a comfortable margin, given the anti-incumbency wave against the ruling party. Seats, where the party failed to win due to a thin margin, should also be reserved for CPIM candidates, as this time, we hope for a good jump in vote share. The talks hit deadlock when Congress demanded seats that are known as traditional Left bastions.”
Interestingly, the CPIM issued no official statement on this confusion. The CPIM state committee member Pabitra Kar said, “The party is ready with its candidate list. We are waiting to get the parlays over.”
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When contacted, Congress leader Asish Kumar Saha said, “Congress is involved in the seat-sharing talks. The state Congress president has left for Delhi. We were supposed to declare the list of candidates on January 25, but it may not be possible given the present situation.”
However, he did not explain what the “present situation” was.
“We will be in a position to say something as soon as the meetings are over and both the parties reach a conclusion of one common pattern,” he added.
Fissures, protests emerging in public
Protests broke out in the Boxanagar assembly constituency as loyalists of former minister and Congress leader Billal Miah drew the notice of the party’s top brass seeking the seat for Miah. Boxanagar, a Muslim-majority constituency, is considered a Left citadel. Former minister Shahid Chowdhury was elected from here to the state assembly in the last elections.
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Neither the BJP nor the Congress is ready to give up the seat, as parties like Trinamool Congress and TIPRA Motha also have a considerable support base in the area. If Congress and CPIM enter into a friendly contest here, it may be equally disastrous for both and by extension, advantage BJP.
As soon as the local Congress leader got to know about the development, they convened a meeting of the Block Congress Committee. “Under the leadership of Billal Miah, we have carried out massive outreach programs across the constituency. We have been informed that CPIM will get the Boxanagar seat in the seat adjustments. As Congress workers, we can’t let that happen. If the party does not give him a ticket, he will contest the polls independently. We hope they reconsider the matter,” a block Congress leader told media persons soon after the meeting ended on Tuesday night.
The uncertainty among Congress and CPIM leaders means there is a high chance the cadres may not react positively to seat-sharing agreements. While the two parties may be aiming to beat the BJP together, their bigger worry for now is to stop internal rebellions. Fail to do so, and the BJP will win without a contest.
Also Read | Tripura 2023: Not just BJP, CPIM-Cong alliance can dent TIPRA too
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