Columnists
A dead end for Communist rule
Banking on the development plank, BJP marched into the North-East. It must now ensure that its vision gets implemented right away. Lessons are in line for the Left and the Congress
The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has scripted history in the just-concluded Tripura Assembly election which will be remembered in the annals of Indian political history for a long time to come. From a mere 1.5 per cent votes in 2013 to 50 per cent vote share this year; from forfeiting deposits in almost all seats, except one in Kadamtala in 2013; to securing a complete majority of 35 seats in 2018; and a two-third majority of 43 along with its electoral ally Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), the saffron party has enacted a magic which outgoing Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and his party will never forget.
The result sends a message to all political parties, including the BJP, and people elsewhere in the country that trends of politics are being rewritten. This is especially true considering the emergence of the BJP with its allies in the Christian-dominated Nagaland and Meghalaya despite the fiat of church against the party. The BJP successfully sent the message loud and clear that it runs the country based on the principles of the Constitution which does not discriminate on religion and other sectarian grounds.
The BJP win in Tripura is a massacre of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led (CPI[M]) Left politics particularly because it had been ruling Tripura since 1977; for 35 long years barring a brief period of Congress Government from 1989 to 1993. Let us examine the causes of the drubbing of Leftists.
The dominant reason is the genuine focus of the Modi Government on development of north-eastern States. Previously, the North-East did not receive the attention and care it deserved though it was a Congress bastion for long. This writer had served in Tripura and Central Secretariat for a long time and is aware of the action programmes for this region. Though several Governments announced 10 per cent earmarking of the Budget for North-East, but bureaucracy laughed it away till the past National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government, headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, took it seriously as the then Prime Minister used to monitor this regularly.
The present Modi Government too had directed its Ministers to regularly visit Tripura and other States to monitor progress; to check misuse of funds while sanctioning of infrastructure projects. This, coupled with bringing in a master strategist, Sunil Deodhar, who endeared himself to Tripura people and their culture and psychology and bringing Biplab Deb as BJP president in Tripura proved a masterstroke. This team focused at the village level, built up a cadre-based organisation and convinced the regional tribal outfit, Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura, which had the support of tribal youths, to drop the demand for a separate State. The BJP leadership moved in tandem and the likes of Himanta Biswa Sarma along with several Union Ministers delivered Tripura to the BJP.
Now, let us focus on how a clean and honest image of Manik Sarkar could not save the CPI(M). The performance of the Manik Sarkar Government has gone from bad to worse as observed by this writer. Corruption increased manifold in all departments which he gleefully ignored and himself got surrounded by sycophants.
One of the positive points of Sarkar was that he reached out to good officers and people during his first 10 years of rule and used these people for better governance. Howevev, gradually, after learning the nuances of governance, he started treating the bureaucracy as dirt and deftly used one against the other, including his own party members. This tactics resulted in some of his cadres taking over the administration through State officers unions; competent people were sidelined; and favours were being selectively distributed. This resulted in poor delivery, all-round chaos and alienated a large section of masses, including CPI(M) cadres (including Government employees) who silently decided to teach the CPI(M) leadership a lesson and voted for the BJP.
This time, people came out in open as the BJP’s well-oiled election machinery ensured that people were not afraid of the CPI(M) cadre high handedness. The CPI(M) had, thus, taken the people of Tripura for granted and focused more on retaining power by befooling people and as the saying goes “you can fool a people for some time but cannot fool all the people for all the time”.
This writer has worked in the constituency of Former Chief Minister of Tripura, Nripen Chakraborty, and had interacted with him several times and found that he had the flair for changing people’s life, ran a corruption-free Government and controlled the Left’s belligerence. However, the party has forgotten him completely and, hence, had to pay the price.
Having analysed the election results, history will remember Manik Sarkar for bringing peace in Tripura and eradicating the curse of terrorism. He must get credit for this but we should also note that the then NDA Home Minister, LK Advani, helped him from the Centre.
The incoming BJP Government must remember that though a small State, it has its unique problems, it will be a herculean task to fulfill the aspiration of the people for which the new Government must act well and plan well too.
Also, get deserving people around and ensure that the vision of the BJP is implemented in right away as it will also trigger changes in West Bengal and other States.
(The writer is former Director General of Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education, Chancellor of FRI University, and chairman of Foundation for Integrated Resource Management)
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