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Political prospects of TMC in Tripura yet to be determined, say analysts
The experts said that the division of votes among the opposition parties might pave the scope for the BJP to give the final laugh.
After victory in West Bengal for the third time in May this year, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has fixed its first target to make its organizational base strong in Tripura before the state goes for Assembly polls in 2023 rather than focusing on choosing leaders from the state.
Keeping its target to form government in the state, the Trinamool Congress appealed to all non-BJP political parties including the Left, Congress or others, to join them in their fight against BJP. But the opposition forces rallying against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are yet to announce any sort of electoral alliance.
The party, though earlier, announced to introduce all the welfare schemes in Tripura that are currently implemented in Bengal if they get people’s mandate in the upcoming elections. The political analysts claim that the prospect of the party led by Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee for the 2023 polls is yet to be determined at this moment.
The experts said that the division of votes among the opposition parties might pave the scope for the BJP to give the final laugh.
“It is premature to say the prospect of Trinamool Congress here. All the opposition parties, CPM, Trinamool Congress, Congress and other regional parties are raising voice against the BJP, but all of these parties have some different political beliefs that might not be acceptable to other anti-BJP parties. Almost one and half years left for the polls, the situation might vary during this period,” said a veteran political analyst who wished not to be named.
The CPM has no agenda of allying with any anti-BJP party, especially Trinamool Congress, in the current circumstances, though they welcome any party if they want to fight against the BJP.
“The CPM is the lone party in the state that has its reach to each and every booth in the state. The Left Front has a strong base here and to date, there is no need to go for alliance with the Trinamool Congress as it has no base here,” said CPM veteran leader Pabitra Kar.
Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was supposed to announce formally the new state committee but it is yet to be done.
“Our first target is to prepare cadres and the people of Tripura will decide who will be their leader. In electoral politics, people’s mandate is everything. We will visit all the districts of the state and will assess who has mass acceptance according to which we will decide our party’s Tripura unit president,” said newly-joined Trinamool Congress leader Sushmita Dev during her visit to the state a few days back.
In the meantime, Banerjee’s pre-scheduled rally in Agartala on September 15 might not happen as the rally got no permission from police as it will collide with another political party’s rally the same day.
The Trinamool Congress criticized the BJP saying that the party used the administration to disrupt the rally and it shows that the BJP is scared of them.
“The Agartala police have said another political party will hold a rally along the same route on Wednesday. This proves that the BJP government is scared of the TMC. Abhishek Banerjee’s car was attacked twice when he visited Tripura,” said TMC Rajya Sabha member Sukhendu Sekhar Roy.
“As the police denied permission to our rally, we will soon share our next course of action,” said TMC former parliamentarian Kunal Ghosh in Agartala on Monday.
Terming both the CPM and Trinamool Congress as ‘two sides of the same coin’, Bharatiya Janata Party said that the Trinamool Congress has planned to bring people from Kachhar, Karimganj and Silchar of Assam to show their strength to Tripura people during the rally that was scheduled to be addressed by Abhishek Banerjee on September 15.
“The Trinamool Congress has no booth committee here and they are well aware of their nil chances to come to power in 2023. They want to create unrest in the state through this rally that got no permission from the police as they didn’t apply properly. They aim to exploit the situation and take it to national politics. So, I urge all to keep themselves away from the conspiracy of Trinamool Congress,” said newly-appointed information and cultural affairs minister Sushanta Chowdhury.
He also said that the state witnessed violence that was orchestrated by former chief minister Manik Sarkar a few days back where BJP activists were attacked by the CPM men. “The CPM created vandalism in the state. Now, they have handed over the baton to Trinamool Congress,” he said.
Many influential leaders from different political parties, including the BJP, joined TMC in the past two months. The All India Mahila Congress chief Sushmita Dev also joined the party last month.
The Trinamool Congress first hit the headlines in Tripura in July when 23 members of political strategist Prashant Kishore’s Indian-Political Action Committee (I-PAC) were detained and forced to stay inside a hotel in Agartala on the charge of violating Covid-19 norms.
Centring the issue, Trinamool Congress bigwigs, including general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, Bengal minister Bratya Basu, and some parliamentarians have started visiting the state to expand its base beyond West Bengal that invited tussle between the two political parties several times.
