TRIPURA & LOK SABHA 2014

WILL THE LEFT HOLD ON TO ITS LAST BASTION

After being thrown out of Bengal by Didi and losing a close contest to the Congress in Kerala, Tripura CM Manik Sarkar saved the blushes for the Communists by retaining their citadel in the North-east (Link). The Left leader who has been in power since 1998 has an extremely clean image. In fact, while filing his papers from his constituency his total assets amounted to less than two and a half lakh rupees. As the Reds talked about the achievements of their incumbent CM on their campaigns, the principal Opposition - the Congress spoke about the regime's failure to alleviate poverty and tackle unemployment. In spite of the grand old party joining hands with two other regional outfits, the Left Front took 50 seats; the surprising part was that after being in power for so long, they had increased their tally by one seat. After such a resounding victory, hardly an year ago, you can expect the Reds to win both parliamentary seats from here. Luckily for the them, they seem to be in top position at least in Tripura unlike in Bengal and Kerala where they are predicted to lose heavily.

ISSUES

(1) The Sarkar Raj: Having won a straight fourth term, the Tripura CM Manik Sarkar is the new 'blue-eyed' in the Red camp. Hailed as the 'cleanest and the poorest' CM in the country by some newspapers, his image as a non-corrupt, performing leader will be a big poll issue for the Communists. It is believed that he deposits his monthly salary in the party fund and draws a subsistence allowance of five thousand rupees. Under him, the state has won as many as 16 awards from the Union government for the successful implementation of central schemes.

(2) The idea of a Third Front: The Left Front will sell its eternal dream of a non-BJP, non-Congress alliance to head the government at Centre during its campaign in the state. Of course, considering the difference of opinion amongst the federal leaders over key issues (Link), will this remain a 'dream' or ever materialize is a cause of concern. Meanwhile, highlighting the in-competencies of the INC led UPA government and hitting out at the NDA's PM nominee Narendra Modi's alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots, you can expect the Communists to ask the masses to vote for the Third Front.

CONTENDERS

(1) The Left Front: The CPI(M) and the CPI have been in power in the state continuously since 1993. As such, the Left has been the dominant power in the state for about 20 years and is expected to sweep the two seats from here this time around too. The two sitting MPs from here - Khagen Das (West Tripura) and Bajuban Reang (East Tripura) have decided to opt out of the race due to health reasons. The party has nominated two fresh faces - trade union leader Shankar Prasad Datta from the western constiutency and state Rural development and Industries Minister Jitenda Choudhury from the east.

(2) Others: The biggest problem for the Congress which is the principal Opposition here is that it is engulfed in deep rooted factionalism. In what was a major embarrassment, a party rally in Agartala was attended by less than a thousand supporters, exposing the cracks in the grand old party. Professor Arunoday Saha had filed his nominations from West Tripura. The biggest headache for the Left however, will be that Mamata Bannerjee has decided to bring her idea of 'Poribortan' to the tiny state. After decimating the Left parties in Bengal, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is all set to make her debut here and will be aiming to replicate her success in her home state. Didi has nominated former Congress minister Ratan Chakraborty and tribal leader Bhriguram Reang from the state. The other contenders include the BJP, the Aam Admi Party (AAP) and several other regional players like the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra (INPT), Nationalist Conference of Tripura (NCT), the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) and the Tripura Gramin Vikash Congress (TGVC).

PAST PERFORMANCE

The comrades have painted the state red in the last five Lok Sabha polls.

Political Party	2009	2004	1999	1998	1996
Left Front (CPI-M/CPI)	2	2	2	2	2
Others	-	-	-	-	-

MY PREDICTIONS

Like so many times in the past, the Left parties are all set to win the two seats in the state. While it may not win any seats, I expect the TMC to get more votes than the Congress. It will be interesting to see if Bannerjee's party can make an impact here. If it does manage to get sizable votes, you can expect it to get few seats in the next legislative assembly elections in 2018.

	Political Party	Expected Seats
1	Left Front (CPI-M/CPI)	2
2	Others	0

WATCH OUT

(1) The political fortunes of the Left: If the Communist have to keep both the Congress and the BJP away from power in 2014, it has to perform well in the upcoming General Elections. Of course, it will not be able to even come near its tally of 60+ seats in 2004. However, the Reds have to end with a tally of at least 30 seats if they have to remain political relevant while forming the next regime in New Delhi. Considering the precarious situation that the CPI-M finds itself in Bengal and Kerala, that seems to be a herculean task. As such, the comrades cannot take Tripura lightly and have to make sure they bag both the seats.

(2) The Rise of the Trinamool: After finishing Left domination in Bengal, Mamata Bannerjee has set her eyes on Tripura. Considering the fact that 69 percent of the state's population is Bengali, the TMC chief wants to emulate her spectacular success story in this part of the country too. If her outfit can end up with a higher vote share than the INC, you can expect several Congressmen to join her. In the coming year, the TMC can become the real challenger to the Left.

For more posts in this series:
(1) Telangana & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(2) Karnataka & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(3) Rajasthan & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(4) Maharashtra & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(5) Goa & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(6) Kerala & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(7) Assam & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(8) Haryana & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(9) Chhattisgarh & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(10) Jammu Kashmir & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(11) Madhya Pradesh & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(12) Bihar & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(13) Jharkhand & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(14) Sikkim & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link
(15) Arunachal Pradesh & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(16) Nagaland & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(17) Manipur & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(18) Meghalaya & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(19) Mizoram & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(20) Delhi & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(21) Uttarakhand & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(22) Himachal Pradesh & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(23) Gujarat & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(24) Punjab & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(25) Bengal & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(26) Odisha & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(27) Tamil Nadu & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(28) Andhra & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(29) Uttar Pradesh & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)

READING BETWEEN THE LINES

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM ROUND ONE OF ASSEMBLY POLLS - 2013

Assembly Polls 2013: The Winners

With the three north eastern states that went to the polls in the early part of the year re-electing their incumbent Chief Ministers to power, the phase one of the state elections that will be held throughout 2013 came to an eventful end. While each of these had one clear winner, past experiences and a little common sense will tell us that there is certainly more to our politics than simply crossing the majority mark or forming the government. Political parties are trying hard to read between the lines, analyzing the verdict from various angles and finding issues that resonate with the people so as to chalk out effective strategies ahead of the upcoming Vidhan Soudha mandate in other states, while keeping the big daddy of them all - Lok Sabha 2014 firmly in focus. Though we cannot generalize the findings that have come out of Agartala, Shillong or Kohima with other parts of the country considering the maze that our Rajneeti is, some of the trends seen here will be of interest to both - the politicians as well as the analysts who closely track the electoral process and developments in the world's largest democracy. In my opinion, the biggest highlights which have come out of the recently concluded polls in the north eastern region are as follows:-

(1) High Voting Percentage - Jago re, Jago re, Jagooo re: Voting is certainly the most important right that the Constitution guarantees us. In the past though, we Indians have taken this privilege for granted, preferring to take the day off rather than waiting in queues in front of the election booths. However, ever since the turn of the new millennium, there has been a steady increase in

Courtesy: IBN Live

the voting percentage in most polls, right from the Panchayat level to General elections. Be it due to the sustained efforts of the Election Commission or because the electorate is becoming aware of its responsibilities, the participation of more people in these processes is a positive sign and will go a long way in strengthening our democratic credentials. In fact, electoral history was created this time around in Tripura as 93.57 percent of all registered voters cast the ballot - the highest ever since independent India's first elections in 1952. While the voting percentage in the other two states fell slightly as compared to the last assembly polls, the people in Meghalaya must be given credit for the manner in which they defied the bandh called by the extremist organization - the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council and came out in such large numbers to make their opinions matter, reaffirming their faith in our democracy, in spite of all its flaws. Even in 2012, the polling percentage in all seven states was well above the national average. The high voter turnout is a clear indication of the fact that masses have realized every vote matters and by not voting they are helping undeserving candidates win.

(2) Anti-incumbency..... Whats that? In the years following the Emergency of 1977-78, anti-incumbency was probably, the most issue in Indian elections. In fact, except for the Left in its bastions of Bengal and Tripura, the BJP in Gujarat and the Congress in few of the north eastern provinces, fortunes of political parties in most states would change every five years. Though the BJP tried to suppress it by raising the 'feel good factor' slogan ahead of the 2004 Lok Sabha and ended up paying a heavy price, the UPA managed to win a second consecutive term. Likewise, Manik Sarkar's 'Mr Clean' image and the steps his government took to establish peace by combating extremism won him a straight forth term, saving the last fortress of the communists in the country. In Meghalaya, a state renowned for its 'Aaya Ram - Gaya Ram' politics, the vote was for stability as Mukul Roy took the Congress extremely close to the majority on its own. The numerous corruption allegations against the Rio government could not prevent the NPF from retaining power single-handedly as the Naga issue struck a chord with the electorate. Last year, while Parkash Singh Badal become the first CM in over four decades to be elected for two straight terms in Punjab, Gujarat CM Narendra Modi routed the Congress in his backyard. Meanwhile, Ikram Ibobi Singh won a third term for the INC in Manipur. The writing on the wall is clear. The public will not hesitate to vote for their sitting MLAs again, if and only if they either have an excellent report card at the end of their term or seem to have credibility to deliver on their issues that concern the aam admi. No wonder then that development, stability or even some regional sentiments can undo any damage that anti-incumbency can cause.

(3) The Left survives the lithmus test: Many analysts believed that the Tripura elections could well be the last nail in the coffin of the Communists in India if the grand coalition of the INC had managed to storm the Agartala assembly. In retrospection, one will realize that the political stars of the Red brigade took a downward turn since they pulled out support to the UPA in 2008 over the Indo-US nuclear deal. In the 2009 General elections, the Left dropped 35 seats to finish at a mere 24 and the Third Front failed

Courtesy: CPI(M)

to pose any challenge to the Congress led alliance, rendering it insignificant in the Parliament. In 2011, the Congress extracted revenge over their former buddies for the 2008 fiasco as it trounced the Marxists by four seats in a closely fought contest to win Kerala. The biggest shock though came from Bengal as Didi capitalized on the agitations in Singur and Nandigram to full fill her life long dream of coming to power in Kolkata. No wonder than that all eyes were on Tripura as three time CM Manik Sarkar led the Left Front in the battle for its last stronghold in the country. All thanks to in fighting amongst Congress leaders, the persona of Sarkar and the development work carried out by the previous regimes, the ruling alliance won a decisive victory, walking away with 50 of the 60 seats inspite of failing to deliver on issues like poverty and unemployment. While the mandate was more like an endorsement for the Sarkar government than for the Marxist ideology, the politiburo is hopeful that such an amazing performance will rejuvenate the cadre and boost its prospects in the 2014 so that it emerges as a key player on the national stage, once again.

(4) Mixed Bag for the Congress: With the Congress ruling over five of the eight north eastern states, the round one of the assembly polls 2013 was an excellent opportunity for the party to further make inroads into the region, especially because two of the states - Tripura and Nagaland which had been under its political rivals for a long time were up for grabs. With Baba's 'Mission 2014' in mind, the party got its entire top brass - the trioka of Manmohan Singh, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi to campaign here.

Courtesy: Shillong Times

However, it failed to do the ground work properly, something that the crown prince had stressed in his list of imperatives for revival. Deep rooted factionalism between leaders and faulty distribution of tickets were the prime reason for the pathetic performance of the INC and its allies in the Tripura polls. While it is true that nothing could bring down the Sarkar Raj in Agartala, the high command will certainly not be pleased by way things went for the party. Though failing to do well in Tripura is a cause of concern, there is no justification whatsoever for the disastrous numbers that the outfit got in Nagaland where it finished with just 8 seats. There is an urgent need for it to do some serious introspection so as to find out the reasons for its failure to even cross the two digit mark considering the various corruption scandals that the Rio government was embodied in. Nonetheless, Mukul Sangma emerged as the poster boy for the party as he prevented a white wash by almost winning Meghalaya on his own in spite of the various contenders in the fray. As the north eastern region which contributes a total of 25 seats to the Lok Sabha has largely been a stronghold of the Congress in the past, the party needs to make additional efforts to reach out to the people in a bid to address their concerns so as to strengthen its position prior to the big mandate.

(5) Another flop show for the BJP: After dropping the tainted Nitin Gadkari following a last minute coup by its top leaders in what has been seen as an effort to break free from the shackles of the RSS, the saffron outfit was hoping that the new President Rajnath Singh would steer it back to the top. Singh showed aggression, trying to mix the Hindutva agenda with development, hoping that its ideology will become more relevant to the youth while preserving its traditional vote bank. The most important part of this strategy was to expand the BJP beyond the Hindi heartland, taking it to hitherto unknown lands and make it a formidable power across the nation. As such, Singh took an active part in the campaign, visiting these poll bound states with other national leaders and even opening channels of communication with regional players. However, in spite of all the efforts that the former UP CM put in, the party managed to get just one seat which is embarrassing to say the least. The lone seat that it won out of the 11 it contested in Nagaland came from the Tijit constituency. Sadly, it even failed to open its account in Meghalaya and Tripura. The question staring the party is whether it can afford to think of ruling the country without a significant presence in several parts. The outfit which came into the national scene after the demolition of the Babri Masjid is virtually non-existent in Bengal, most of the north eastern states and down south. In Uttar Pradesh its influence has waned and in states like Bihar and Punjab, it plays second fiddle to other stronger partners. It is but clear that Rajnath needs to focus on building the BJP in these regions rather than simply going there just before elections or else it will never become a national party in true sense.

(6) Endgame Sangma? When Garo strongman Purno Sangma joined the National People's Party (NPP) after failing in his bid to become the thirteenth President of India, the conception, atleast in the media was that he would have a big impact on the election results in his home state of Meghalaya. The exodus of top leaders from his previous party - the NCP including his two sons into the NPP further strengthened this claim. However, the results were a shocker to Purno and his supporters. As the

Courtesy: Frontline

Congress under one Mukul Sangma inched close to majority on its own, the NPP had a disastrous debut with only two of its candidates making it to the legislative assembly, much lower than the 10 odd seats which the pundits had predicted. The Congress won 12 of the 25 seats in the Garo region - the home turf of the seasoned politician. This is significant because the NPP chief has represented this part of the country in the Lok Sabha on multiple occasions before his daughter Agatha was elected from here in 2009. Shockingly, his younger son Conrad who is a former state minister and Leader of Opposition was beaten by Clement Marak of the INC in Selsella constituency. The only consolation for the tribal leader was that his eldest son James won from Daddenggire. Many believe that the 2013 Meghalaya polls might well have sounded the end of the political career of P A Sangma, who arguably, is the most famous politician from the North east. However, it is too early to write off the NPP chief, specially because he has seen several storms (and parties of course) in his political career spanning over four decades. With the General elections just an year away, the senior Sangma will get one last opportunity to make a comeback. Meanwhile, his children - James, Conrad and Agatha are young and should work hard to live upto the legacy of their illustrious father. On the other hand, with his brother Zenith and wife Dikkanchi Shira also giving him company in the Megahalaya Vidhan Soudha, CM Mukul Sangma's family has emerged as the new first family of the state politics, atleast for the time being.

For more on the 2014 General Elections

(1) The Fall of the Triumvirate (Link)

(2) The Double Edged Sword (Link)

(3) An Ally in Need is an Ally Indeed (Link)

IMAGES

(1) Coutesy: IBN Live
Source: Northeast election; polling underway in Meghalaya, Nagaland; high turnout expected (Link)

(2) Coutesy: CPI(M) (Link)

(3) Coutesy: Shillong Times
Source: NCP locks horns with Mukul over subsidiary fiasco(Link)

(4) Coutesy: Frontline
Source: Assembly Elections: North eastern round (Link)

BATTLEGROUND TRIPURA

THE SARKAR RAJ CONTINUES

The electoral bugle has been sounded and the political stage has been set. The General elections are just an year away and the UPA is under pressure, battling anti-incumbency and the numerous corruption scandals that seem to have become the only 'hallmark' of the Congress-led alliance in its second term. On the other hand, with the BJP being engulfed in factionalism and in-fighting,

Tripura 2013: Left vs Congress

it looks as if the NDA is in no position to form the next government. After losing Kerala and being thrown out of power in Bengal, the Left Front has lost much of its influence, thereby hampering the prospects of the much talked about Third Front. As many of the regional players are yet to formally join either of the two main formations, both the national parties are doing all that they can to woo them so as to gain an advantage over the other. With 10 states going to the polls this year, political pundits are calling the 2013 assembly elections as the semi-finals before the carnival that will unfold in 2014. The manner in which the states vote will, for sure, impact the strategies of all the key players involved and will be a great opportunity for them to assess both, the mood of the electorate and their own preparedness ahead of the grand finale. As such, they are going that extra mile to connect with the masses by getting their top leaders to draw audience and diverting their 'unaccounted wealth' into the campaign.

While a few would have dismissed the voting in Tripura - the first state that goes to the polls this year as politically insignificant, the ones who are well acquainted with the state knew that the mandate here would to a certain extent, dictate the fate of the Left Front atleast in the next few months. In fact, ever since they withdrew support to the UPA government in 2008 due to differences over the Indo-US nuclear deal, the Vampanti Morcha has seen an exponential slump in its fortunes. In the following national elections, they managed to win just 24 seats, a massive decline from their all time high of 59 in the fourteenth Lok Sabha. A couple of years later, the Red brigade lost out to the Congress-led UDF in a closely fought contest. However, the biggest blow came when Trinamool supremo Mamata Bannerjee in alliance with the INC stormed the 'impregnable' Marxist bastion of West Bengal after 34 years of 'misrule'. With the Left Front getting a severe dressing down across the nation, its standing in the political spectrum has also been hampered severely; it is no more a natural magnet for the non-UPA, non-NDA government at the Centre - an eternal dream of the the upholders of federalism. As such, the comrades were doing all that they could to retain their final frontier, hoping that a victory in Agartala would help resurrect their political graph, before and after 2014.

Leading the Socialist charge was the incumbent CM Manik Sarkar, dubbed by many leading newspapers as the 'poorest CM in the country'. Holding the top job since 1998, Sarkar declared his total assets, both movable and immovable as little less than two and a half lakh rupees while filling his nomination papers

Tripura CM Manik Sarkar

from the Dhanpur constituency. It is believed that he deposits his monthly salary of Rs 9,200 in the party fund and the CPI(M) pays him a subsistence allowance of five thousand. Known for his Mr. Clean image, even his staunchest critics credit him for his ability of staying away from all sort of controversies inspite of being in power for so long. The fifteen awards that the state has been awarded by the Centre for the successful implementation of the central schemes was portrayed by the communists as an endorsement of its good governance. Almost the entire top brass of the party including politburo members - Sitaram Yechury, Brinda Karat and other prominent leaders from the Central Committee campaigned in the North eastern state. In the numerous rallies that they attended, they were seen flaying the Congress for its failure to perform at all levels while being tight lipped on issues concerning the aam admi like widespread poverty and high rate of unemployment which the Sarkar regime have failed to tackle time and again. Probably, the biggest relief for the ruling alliance came when the Trinamool Congress decided against contesting in the state this time.

While the communist exuberated confidence of retaining power, the principal opposition - the INC looked like a divided house with various sections involved in trouncing one another, further weakening the party. After General Secretary Oscar Fernandes declared the final list of 48 candidates in January this year, protests and agitation were reported from many constituencies as heavyweights like the royal scion of the erstwhile ruling family Maharaj Pradyot Manikya Bahadur and prominent party leaders like Jawhar Saha, Biva Nath, Bikas Das and Dilip Muhuri were left out. Hoping to garner the tribal support in its favour, the Congress entered into an alliance with the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra (INPT) - seen as the political arm of the underground organization National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT). Headed by former rebel Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhawl, the INPT which has considerable base amongst the tribals who comprise of about 30% of the voters, was given 10 seats in the pre-poll accord. Meanwhile the Animesh Debbrama's Nationalist Conference of Tripura (NCT), the third constituent of the Congress led alliance was allowed to field one candidate. While Sonia Gandhi had to cancel her visit to the state due to ill health, Vice President Rahul Gandhi and Finance minister P C Chidambaram flew down to improve the party's prospects, lambasting the Left over insufficient development and asking the masses to give them a chance after a wait spanning approximately two decades. Other political units that have also thrown their hat in the ring are BJP, JD(U), NCP and Amar Bangali.

Development or the lack of it was the main issue in this election, depending on which side of the political divide one was. The comrades tried hard to portray Tripura as a model state, highlighting central initiatives like the MNREGA which have been

Tripura 2008: Results

carried out here in a commendable manner and banking on the persona of Sarkar. Accusing the government of failing to improve infrastructure and tackling the dual menaces of poverty and unemployment, the Congress president Sudip Roy Burman raised the slogan of 'Poribortan', aiming to replicate the success of their former ally Mamata Bannerjee in Bengal. However, unlike the TMC, the Congress was engulfed in factionalism, a fact compounded by faulty distribution of tickets thanks to the aloofness of the central observer Luizinho Faleiro. Also, the Left Front made sure that blunders like Singur and Nandigram were not replicated, not giving any chance to their adversaries to gain momentum ahead of the February 14 polls. Finally, the opposition lacked any credible leader to set their house in order and pose any sort of threat to the ruling combine. Besides, insurgency was also another much talked about topic in rallies and debates across the state. The influx of migrants into Tripura, mainly from neighbouring Bangladesh sparked off clashes between the tribals and the Bengalis in the 1980s. Militancy was particularly severe in the late nineties but counter-insurgency operations by the armed forces and efforts of successive regimes under Sarkar have taken the steam out of these banned organizations. The role of the the CM in combating the underground movement and his efforts in improving relations between the two communities was presented as another achievement of his tenure. The communist leaders slammed the INC-INPT coalition, accusing them of funding the revival of the insurgency to gain political advantage. On the other hand, the opposition hit back at the government, alleging that the member of the Left Front of being hand in gloves with the militants. Tripura has made considerable progress in this regard, especially when compared to other states in the region with terror outfits operating in the state lacking both cadre and money to carry out any attacks. However, they are reported to have changed their modulus operandi - running extortion rackets and kidnapping people for money.

The results of the Valentine day election which saw 93.57% turnout, was declared a fortnight later on February 28 along with Meghalaya and Nagaland. This was the highest percentage of polling in the electoral history of the country.

Tripura 2013: Results

As expected, the socialist won a record fifth term, their seventh in the state's history since 1978. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) won a staggering 49 seats which is over eighty percent of the strength of the assembly and is three more when compared to its numbers in 2008. The Communist Party of India also bagged one to take the alliance's tally to 50. The Chief Minister romped home to victory with over 5000 votes and so did all his cabinet colleagues - an endorsement of the policies of the previous regime. The Congress could only manage to take 10 seats like in the last assembly polls. In fact, the only silver lining for the party was that the former Speaker Jitendra Sarkar who had joined the party early this year won from Barjala constituency beating Jitendra Das who had himself defected to the Left. Surprisingly, Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhawl, the chief of the INPT lost to CPI(M)'s Lalit Kumar Debbarama from Ambassa. In fact, both allies of the INC - the INPT and the NCT failed to even open their accounts. Also, the BJP's dream to make their debut in the state failed to convert into reality as it drew a blank. 

The Left's performance in the assembly elections in their last bastion is truly commendable. The comrades will be hoping that this is the sign of the things to come. The spectacular results for the Reds has proved that they cannot be written off. While they may still find it hard to fight Mamata in Bengal or the Congress in Kerala, it can be safely assumed that they are going to win the two Lok Sabha seats from the state, unless they goof it up somehow. Surely, this thumping victory will revitalize the cadre across the country, strengthening its prospects ahead of the 2014 elections. A big part of the credit of the Left's success goes to the Chief Minister himself. In a vibrant democracy like ours, to be given a fourth chance is very rare and the margin of the victory is huge to say the least. If he continues the good work that he is credited for, he may well go on to become the longest serving CM ever, beating the record presently held by another communist leader - Jyoti Basu. For the Congress, it has to start from scratch. Firstly, the top leaders in the state need to put their differences aside and work for the welfare of the party. Next, an organizational revamp seems necessary and is expected soon. The party has to connect better with the people and corner the government over its failures. For the time being, the Sarkar Raj in Tripura is to continue for another five years.

SOURCES

(1) Deccan Herald - Manik Sarkar 'cleanest and poorest' CM (Link)

(2) The Hindu - Campaign ends in Tripura (Link)

(3) Daily News - Candidate list sets cats amongst pigeons in Tripura Congress (Link)

(4) NDTV - Tripura: All Parties (Link)

(5) Zee News - NE Election Results (Link)