People's Democracy

TRIPURA

Left Front Sweeps Bypolls to Local Bodies

Rahul Sinha

MAINTAINING its winning spree after the assembly elections in Tripura in February 2013, the Left Front swept the bypolls to the local bodies too, when the results were announced on June 22. As per the declared results for 91 seats of the zila parishads, panchayat samitis, gram panchayats, nagar panchayats and village committees, the Left Front has won in 87. The Congress and its ally, the pro-extremist Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT), could win in only three gram panchayat seats and one village committee seat. The Left Front had already won, unopposed, in 35 of the gram panchayat seats, 11 of the village committee seats and three panchayat samiti seats as the opposition could not put up any candidate, thus showing its organisational weakness. 

More than 83 per cent polling was recorded on June 19 when these seats went to poll and the polling process was completely peaceful; no untoward incident was reported from anywhere. The counting was held on June 22. Out of the 54 gram panchayat seats that went to poll, CPI(M) candidates of the Left Front won in 51, while the Congress could win only three. Earlier, the CPI(M) had won 35 gram panchayat seats uncontested. With this result, the Left Front has been able to a gain majority in three gram panchayat, namely Agnibasha of Panisagar RD block, Chandrapur of Matabari RD block and Halhali of Durgachowmuhoni sub-block.

Of the 30 village committee seats that went to poll, the CPI(M) won in 29 while the INPT could win only one. Earlier the Left Front had won 11 of the village committee seats uncontested. 

Further, the CPI(M) won all the four panchayat samiti seats that went to poll, while it had earlier won three such seats uncontested. 

The CPI(M) won both the zila parishad seats. In the North zila parishad seat, the CPI(M) candidate defeated his nearest Congress candidate by a margin of 4,907 votes, while in the South zila parishad seat the CPI(M) candidate won by a huge margin of 10,584 votes.

The CPI(M) also won the only seat of Sonamura nagar panchayat that went to poll.

The Tripura Left Front Committee and the CPI(M) state secretariat have, in separate statements, welcomed these results as a reflection of the undiminished popular support for the Left Front government in the state and a thorough rejection of the anti-Left forces. The Left Front congratulated the electorate as well as workers and supporters of the constituent parties for this victory and appealed to the victorious candidates to remain committed to the masses, to ensure people’s participation in all the developmental works and to strive for speedy and transparent implementation of the government programmes and thereby play an active role in further deepening the roots of the Left movement among the masses.