People's Democracy

TRIPURA CPI(M) REVIEWS ASSEMBLY RESULTS

Positive Mandate from People

Winning Back the Remaining Masses Stressed

                                                                                                        Rahul Sinha

THAT the state assembly elections 2013 in Tripura gave a historic, positive and splendid mandate in favour of the Left Front, was the observation the CPI(M)’s Tripura state committee made after a threadbare review of the electoral outcome. At the same time the state committee stressed upon the task of winning over the section of masses that were misled by the propaganda of the Congress party and did not place their confidence in the Left Front.

The decisions of the CPI(M) state committee were conveyed to the media by CPI(M) state secretary, Bijan Dhar, at a press conference on April 2, after the two day meeting of the state committee on March 31 and April 1. CPI(M) state secretariat member Gautam Das accompanied him at the press conference.

Bijan Dhar said a majority of the electorate of Tripura voted for the formation of seventh Left Front government despite all sorts of conspiracies by the Congress and its allies and despite all the efforts of the forces of neo-liberalism. The state committee congratulated the masses for their support.

The Congress party, in its electoral review, has opined that it is the poor and the illiterates who voted for the Left Front. Referring to it, Bijan Dhar strongly condemned these humiliating remarks about the electorate. However, he added, such remarks are quite expected from the leaders of a political party of the rich.

Giving details of the electoral review, Bijan Dhar said this time the vote share of the Left Front has increased by 1.14 per cent while the vote share of the Congress and its allies has decreased by 0.22 per cent. Of the 50 seats won by the Left Front, it has got 50 per cent or more than 50 per cent of the votes in 45 seats. On the contrary, the Congress got 50 per cent or more of the votes in six out the 10 seats won by it. Dhar said the CPI(M) state committee was not satisfied with the result. The way the Left Front government has been striving for overall development of the state, the way it has ensured food security, established peace, created jobs for the unemployed while defying the dictates of the centre, and the way the Left Front and the supporting mass organisations have conducted consistent movements on national and local issues, should have given the Left Front another four or five seats. While the CPI(M) has humbly accepted the mandate of the people, however, the fact remains that despite all the developmental works and the continuous struggles and movements a large number of people remain away from the influence of the Left Front. We have to continue our efforts to gain their confidence, Bijan Dhar said.

According to the CPI(M) leader, it was indeed expected that the affluent sections in urban areas are among the beneficiaries of liberalisation and would not vote for the Left Front. The electoral review has also shown that even a section of the poor and the lower middle class as well as a section of the employees and teachers were misled and fell prey to the false promises made in the Congress party’s election manifesto which the Left Front still thinks was a document of deceit. This is a dangerous trend, according to the CPI(M) state committee. Such attempts to make the people self-centred and greedy are a part of the philosophy of liberalisation, the CPI(M) said. Not only in urban areas but also in the tribal dominated areas, the section which has become affluent to an extent was misled by the Congress.

To counter this problem, the CPI(M) state committee has decided to intensify the ideological struggle, and redouble its efforts in the political, organisational and ideological spheres so that the masses who were misled are able to identify their true enemy. This struggle against liberalisation is essentially a part of our anti-imperialist struggle, the state committee stressed.

The CPI(M)’s review exercise has pointed out that a majority of the media have, from the very beginning, worked against the Left Front by propagating false news and running an unending malicious and slanderous campaign. A section tried to strike a balance and a very small section made conscious and determined efforts so that the people remained firm in favour of peace, harmony and development. The state committee congratulated these people.

According to Bijan Dhar, a significant point is that, for the first time in any election in the state, the Banabasi Ashram and some other organisations affiliated to the RSS as well as some minority religious organisations tried to influence the voters on religious lines. This is a very dangerous trend and a very serious offence.  He said the CPI(M) state committee meeting had decided to hold an extended meeting of the state committee in Agartala on April 27 and 28 to deliberate on an effective implementation of the tasks that have emerged out of the electoral review.

Replying to a query, Bijan Dhar said commission has been constituted to inquire into the allegation that a small section of the party leadership worked against the CPI(M) candidate in Kailashahar. One divisional secretariat member and a district committee member have been suspended from the party for three months pending the conclusion of the ongoing inquiry.

Gautam Das said Rahul Gandhi, vice president of the Indian National Congress, had come to Tripura to lead his party’s election campaign and had called for ousting the CPI(M) from the state. But wherever he campaigned, people have rejected the Congress outright. The Congress could not win a single seat in Shantirbazar, Sonamurra and Khayerpur, and could retain the Dharmanagar seat with much difficulty. After his campaign the Congress lost a seat even in Agartala town which it had been winning since 1988. The way the people have rejected his blatant lies in Tripura is an indication that he would sooner than later become a burden for the Congress party.

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE

MOVEMENT IN MAY

The CPI(M) state committee has decided to organise a civil disobedience movement all over Tripura in the last week of May. This would be conducted on a six point charter of demands, in response to the call of Sangharsh Sandesh Rally held in the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on March 19. Bijan Dhar said since we were engaged in the electoral struggle, we could not participate in the countrywide jatha programme. So the CPI(M) state committee has now decided that a massive campaign on the six point charter of demands must be conducted throughout the state from May 15 to 25. For this purpose, the pary would strive to make the masses aware about these demands. Later, in the last week of May, picketing and civil disobedience would be organised in front of the central government offices all over the state on a single day. The state committee authorised the state secretariat to decide on the date of the programme.

MEMORIAL

LECTURES

The CPI(M) state committee has also decided that from now on every year, as part of party education, memorial lectures would be organised on the birthdays of five legendary communist leaders of the state, namely, Comrades Nripen Chakraborty, Dasharath Deb, Biren Dutta, Bhanu Ghosh and Baidyanath Majumdar. These lectures will be on different subjects and eminent scholars and speakers, both from outside and inside the state, will be invited to speak on these occasions.