Understanding Tripura verdict (original) (raw)

Dissecting the Verdict of Tripura Assembly Election 2023

Economic and Political Weekly, 2023

The verdict of the Tripura assembly election 2023 gave a renewed mandate for the Bharatiya Janata Party government with a thin majority. Though the resurgent Communist Party of India (Marxist)–Congress alliance put up a fierce fight against the ruling party, the emergence of the Tipra Motha Party as a third political force, championing the tribal demand for the protection of Indigenous identity dashed the electoral fortunes of the opposition.

Tripura Elections

Tripura results should not shock anyone. While Mr Manik Sarkar was rewarded four times for bringing stability and peace to the state, he failed in creating jobs for the youth.

Nuances of the Left Debacle in Tripura

Economic and Political Weekly, 2019

The electoral and political debacle of the left in Tripura is a culmination of long-term social churning. Discontent among the tribal population as well as the divide between tribal and Bengali communities were effectively utilised by the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has led to precipitous erosion of the base of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

Making Sense of the Manipur Assembly Election Results

Economic and Political Weekly, 2022

It is argued that it would be naïve to explain the Bharatiya Janata Party’s success as a wholehearted endorsement of its Hindutva agenda as there are substantial local reservations on this. Unlike Uttar Pradesh or other parts of North India where it aggressively pushed its Hindutva agenda, the BJP knows the limitation of this agenda and has instead used a combination of strategies like the promise of development and peaceful settlement of armed conflicts. These electoral strategies intersect with and are driven by a set of factors that, in turn, determine the BJP’s success: first, the increasing electoral insignificance of the Congress, and second, the continuing salience of complex and cross-cutting social cleavages.

Uttar Pradesh Mandate 2017 is no Surprise: My Lead article in The Economic Times, 12 March 2017

The unprecedented victory of the BJP in UP has come as a big surprise for everyone, including for the victorious BJP. Well, it shouldn't. The last two governments headed by Mayawati (2007-12) and Akhilesh Yadav (2012-17) were tried and tested by the electorate with hope, aspirations and principles of social inclusivism. Did they deliver? No. Akhilesh, in the latter half of his tenure, did pay some attention to building roads and flyovers. But this was largely perceived as being part of a 'Yadavisation' spree. The early Akhilesh years also witnessed a steep rise in lawlessness and the hooliganism. But, most importantly, the Samajwadi Party (SP) government's tenure was hardwired to wilful communalisation. More than 600 incidents of communal tension were reported during the last five years of which the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots were only the most 'visible'. Take the case of Durga Shakti Nagpal, sub-divisional magistrate of Sadar, Noida, who was suspended for taking on the sand mafia of Greater Noida in 2013. Senior SP leader Narendra Bhati had openly boasted of having her suspended in less than an hour of his 'intervention'. The ruling party then 'intervened' to appease the sand mafia, but paraded the episode as an exercise to protect the Muslims of Kadalpur who were building a mosque, the 'illegal' wall of which Nagpal had allegedly ordered to be demolished. Never mind that the land where the mosque was being constructed belonged to the Gram Sabha, not to a Muslim organisation. It was only a few weeks later in August 2013 that the district of Muzaffarnagar in western UP and areas around it were engulfed in communal violence. The displacement caused by that horror persists to this day. A few other incidents of communal violence took place in areas with BSP presence, Bijnor being one of them. Since the party in government itself was in the business of communalisation, it couldn't — and didn't — do enough to prevent such flare-ups. The tension suited both the SP and the BJP as it was through communalisation that the SP planned to alienate Muslims from the BSP and 'win them over' via victims' compensation.

Election Prediction in Uttar Pradesh: A Psephological Nightmare

Economic & Political Weekly, 2017

A stroll down memory lane of elections held in Uttar Pradesh (UP) would reveal that the electoral politics in the state has been so topsy-turvy that the state has rightly earned the nickname, “Ulta Pradesh.” The reason for this nomenclature arises due to two reasons. One, UP has the distinction of going against the national trend by not voting in favour of the political party which came to power after winning the Lok Sabha elections on several occasions. Two, the “psephological surprise” of electoral outcomes in UP in the last decade was neither anticipated by the political parties in the fray, nor by the political analysts and pollsters during the hustings.

From Tripura Upajati Juba Samity To TIPRA Motha: The Journey Of Indigenous Politics In Tripura

Outlook India , 2023

It is now imperative that many sensitive Bengali-intellectuals must also start to think from a decolonial perspective by building solidarities with indigenous tribes and by progressively reflecting on the accommodation of diverse civilisations within the constitutional framework of the Indian state. They must also insist that the Governments of Tripura and India also arrive and guarantee a constitutional solution to the vexed problem of the indigenous tribes of Tripura, while also protecting the rights of other non-indigenous communities. I believe this should be pursued through a spirit of collective reconciliation, mutual dialogue, and respectful co-existence.