Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Friday said though there is no pre-poll adjustment with the Tipra Motha, there can be local-level understanding with the tribal party, which has emerged as the third pole in the upcoming Tripura elections.
Yechury, however, exuded confidence that the Left-Congress alliance would win the February 16 elections on its own and there would be ”no hung assembly”.
”At the local level, there can be some understanding, though there is no pre-poll adjustment with the Tipra Motha,” Yechury told reporters in Agartala.
Yechury rejected speculations that there could be a hung assembly in the northeastern state, saying that the people will give a "decisive mandate" in favour of secular-democratic forces.
Claiming that the people's mood is for a change in the government in the state, Yechury said ”attack on democracy, a reign of terror, misrule and corruption" are bothering citizens of Tripura.
”With a few days to go for the elections, the ruling dispensation will desperately try to use money and muscle power. Threats and intimidations have already been unleashed," he said.
Yechury also claimed that the armed police forces from other states, like Assam and Gujarat (both Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled), were deployed on the pretext that there was a shortage of central paramilitary forces.
"A team will meet the Election Commission in Delhi to request it to take all possible measures to restore democracy and rule of law. In the past five years, the northeastern state has not only witnessed misrule but also a drastic fall in livelihood," he alleged.
In the 60-member assembly, the ruling BJP is contesting 55 seats alone while its ally IPFT has fielded candidates in five seats.
Of the Left parties, the CPI-M is fighting in 43 seats, and the Forward Bloc, RSP and the CPI are contesting in one each, while the Congress has fielded nominees in 13 assembly segments. The Left Front is supporting an independent candidate in the Ramnagar constituency of West Tripura.
The Tipra Motha has nominated candidates in 42 assembly segments.
On being asked about the Left-Congress' chief ministerial candidate, Yechury said the elected MLAs will choose their leader.
Lashing out at the BJP, CPI-M state secretary Jitendra Choudhury, who many expect will be the chief minister if the alliance wins the elections, also claimed that the "people's mood is for restoration of democracy” which, he said, suffered due to the "BJP's misrule".
”Assam chief minister has become a daily passenger to Tripura and comes late at night -- don't know the mystery about this," he said.
Choudhury, the CPI-M's tribal face for long, also claimed that "huge amounts of cash is flowing in -- Rs 4 crore has been seized over the past few days. The CEO must take care of these things,” he said.
Elections to the 60-member Tripura assembly will be held on February 16, when some 28 lakh people are expected to exercise their franchise.
