Left-Congress Alliance Makes Historic Debut in Tripura LS Elections, Takes on BJP Together for First Time in 7 Decades
In the upcoming parliamentary polls in Tripura, the Left parties and Congress are joining forces against the BJP for the first time in history. The main battle in the Tripura West Lok Sabha seat will be between BJP’s Biplab Kumar Deb and Congress’ Ashish Kumar Saha, an INDIA bloc candidate.
Former Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb of the BJP will face off against state Congress President Ashish Kumar Saha in a significant electoral showdown. Saha and sitting Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman left the BJP in February 2022 after initially being elected on the party’s tickets in 2018.
The Left Front, which traditionally contested against the Congress since 1952, partnered with the grand old party in last year’s Assembly elections. The BJP, defeating the CPI(M)-led Left Front after a 25-year reign, came to power in Tripura for the first time.
Despite the joint efforts of the Left Front and the Congress in the previous Assembly polls, the BJP emerged victorious. In the Tripura West Lok Sabha seat, historically significant for the CPI(M), the Congress won four times in the past while the BJP claimed its first victory in 2019.
In the electoral landscape of Tripura, tribal and Scheduled Caste communities hold immense significance. The Tripura West and Tripura East Lok Sabha seats each comprise 30 of the total 60 Assembly seats, with reserved sets for tribals and Scheduled Castes in both regions. The tribal votes play a crucial role in shaping the political outcomes in the state.
The Tipra Motha Party (TMP), a recent entrant to the political scenario, made a significant impact by securing 13 tribal reserve seats in the last Assembly polls. The TMP’s demand for a ‘Greater Tipraland State’ has gained traction among the tribal population, affecting the electoral dynamics in the region.
