Tripura Elections: Motha Chief’s ‘Quitting’ Speech, Case Against Opinion Poll Mark End to Campaign

Agartala: An attack on the chairperson of Tripura Women's Commission (TWC), a case against an opinion poll, an alleged incident of firing and the state’s biggest regional party (Tipra Motha) chief announcing his “departure” from electoral politics ended electioneering in the run-up to February 16 Assembly elections.

A total of 28 lakh electorate have been registered to exercise the adult franchise while 3,337 booths have been slated for the purpose. The poll parties have already reached polling stations while the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has assured a peaceful election this time, which Tripura has not seen since 2018.

As the poll campaign neared its end, TWC chairperson Branali Goswami was assaulted and blamed for “anti-BJP activity”.

This is the first ever such incident in the state. Goswami was assaulted in broad daylight in the courtyard of the house of one of her acquaintances in the presence of police. The incident took place in her native place, Dharmanagar, in North Tripura district.

The attackers were seemingly close to the BJP candidate and Deputy Speaker of Tripura Legislative Assembly, Biswabandu Sen, as they were heard blaming Goswami for “going against Biswabandhu Sir and supporting a rival candidate”, as per sources present there.

Goswami is also a BJP leader and her father, Rasik Ranjan Goswami, is a very old RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) functionary. She lodged an FIR against at least five persons, including a BJP municipal councillor there. Later, she told reporters: “They are from BJP. I did not imagine ever that I would be attacked by BJP cadres, my own party cadres. I was there to meet a ‘kariyakartas’, but they dragged me out to the courtyard and attacked me. I was made to bleed physically and mentally. Before an election such an incident is damaging for the party’s image.”

In a social media post, Goswami’s father wrote: “This is the reward I got for sacrificing my youth, my whole life, time and toil for RSS and BJP. My daughter was attacked for being in the BJP, by BJP’s people.”

The opposition CPI(M) condemned the incident and demanded the arrest of the culprits who were visible in video clips available on social media.

Meanwhile, the social media was flooded by people questioning women’s safety in the state. “ If the Women's Commission chairperson is not safe, who else would be in the state?” said many people.

After 24 hours of the incident, no one had been arrested. The TWC chairperson also wrote the Returning Officer ( RO) concerned to take action besides lodging an FIR with police.

It may be mentioned here that about one-and-half years ago, after visiting an area in South Tripura where an alleged incident of torturing a woman by a mob was reported, Goswami had said on camera that the said woman was of “bad character” and the people had “disciplined her”.

Congress Files Case Against Opinion Poll

Before flying out of the state, AICC general secretary Ajoy Kumar lodged a complaint with the police against BJP activist Pradip Bhandari for “violation of poll rules”, after an ‘opinion poll’ was telecast through a local TV channel, Headlines Tripura. Congress also wrote to the Election Commission of India, saying: “It has been observed that a certain news channel has published opinion polls for the 2023 Tripura Legislative Assembly elections. These ‘opinion polls’ favouring one particular party over the others, are being published in direct contravention of the directions of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Tripura prohibiting the publication of opinion polls for Tripura elections till 27.02.2023.”

Three days ago, the CEO had clearly said that opinion polls, exit polls, etc. are banned until February 27 up to 7 p.m.

The Congress referred to a video clip published in a ‘national channel’ where CEO Kiran Gitte spoke about the ban on opinion polls and exit polls, etc. The CEO was approached for comments on the development on his official number and via whatsapp, but there was no response till the wee hours. Additional CEO Usha Jen Mog was requested the same, but he deflected the question to Additional Election Officer Abhijit Chakraborty.

Chakraborty said opinion and exit polls were banned from 48 hours prior to end of actual poll and again the same was extended up to February 27, etc. That is, banned from February 14 , 4 p.m. But he did not comment on how the CEO did not mention ‘February 14’ but just announced a blanket ban up to February 27.

Congress leader Ajoy Kumar termed the ‘Jan ki Baat opinion poll’ person Pradip Bhandari as a ‘BJP man’ and alleged that he “habitually made such polls by taking money”. He said Bhandari’s opinion poll fell flat in Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal.

Poll Violence Continues

Despite announcement of ‘Mission Zero Poll Violence’ by the EC, attacks continue, especially on Opposition activists. The TWC chairperson is a victim of such violence, though allegedly by her ‘own party (BJP) cadres’. Police action is alleged to be insufficient and “intentionally misleading” at many places, as per Opposition parties.

In Bishalgarh sub-division, on the last day of electioneering, a TIPRA Motha-BJP clash left several injured, the marketplace Lalsingmura was largely destroyed, motorbikes were set on fire. The pitched battle was allegedly initiated by BJP activists, as they attacked Motha supporters attending a poll rally, but soon they were outnumbered. A BJP office was allegedly reduced to dust, but some shopkeepers, food carts, auto rickshaws also came under attack, allegedly by Motha activists.

In the same sub-division, the wife of a Congress activist was injured and her husband attacked at their house at Brajanagar. At Kamalanagar, people alleged that BJP goons in a bid to terrorise Left-Congress voters to keep them away from voting, called one Jahirul out in the wee hours and fired four rounds of bullets. The police came after one hour and without visiting the place of occurrence, went back.

“This has been going on for a week. The role of police is very negative. We will be compelled to block roads. We are Left supporters, that is why the attack,” a local person told the media.

At Charilam in Sipahijala district a day before a gang allegedly led by Rajkumar Debnath, BJP mondol president, who is accused of murdering a CPI(M) supporter and never got arrested, went door-to-door and assaulted several people. A case has been lodged against him.

Two days ago, around 250 people led by a CPI(M) candidate gheraoed the airport police station at midnight charging them with inaction. Even after that, the police could not avert a clash between BJP-CPI(M) when the group was returning home from the police station.

CEO Gitte claimed on Wednesday: “The poll violence has scaled down by 30% if you compare with early polls. In the last one and half months, with the central forces, law and order has been improved. I appeal to common people, leaders of the political parties to extend co-operation.”

In the July bye-election, when Gitte was the CEO, the poll was alleged to be hugely rigged. He admitted recently that violence took place then, but did not hold anyone responsible. At that time, outsiders were caught in voters’ queues inside polling stations by commoners and journalists and handed over to security personnel, but none was brough to justice. The voters were intimidated and attacked to keep them away from booths.

More than 400 companies of the Central Armed Police Force have been deployed but news reports said that there were issues with deployment of them.

TIPRA Motha Chief Says he will quit ‘Electoral Politics’

A formidable force, TIPRA Motha, a Scheduled Tribe based regional party of Tripura, saw its Chief Pradyot Manikya Debbarman announcing his departure from ‘electoral politics’ in a poll rally in the last hours before electioneering ended .

“This is my last message from such a platform. You will never see me (Bubagra) in this way anymore.” This created confusion and doubt across the political spectrum and common people.

CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chowdhury had alleged on Tuesday that the Union Home Minister had threatened him (Pradyot) to forge a deal with BJP when they (Pradyot and his team) were taken to Delhi after the poll dates got announced.

Tripura is going to polls under a general threat perception, which was not ever seen even when insurgency was at its peak in the state. A few seats bore the risk, but elections could not be manipulated then. This time, people are asking whether they can even get to cast their votes. The ball lies in the EC’s court.

The writer is a freelance journalist based in Tripura.