• Abhijit Nath, NET Correspondent, Tripura 

Agartala, July 18, 2022 : Former Chief Minister of Tripura and leader of opposition Manik Sarkar on Monday said that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is in trouble ahead of the assembly election scheduled to be held early next year. He also raised several issues like changing of chief minister and false voting in the recently concluded by-election.

Sarkar made these remarks after casting his vote during the ‘Presidential Elections 2022’ at the premises of State Legislative Assembly here in Agartala city.

Justifying his statement of ‘BJP is in trouble’ ahead of the assembly election in Tripura, Sarkar told reporters that “If there is no trouble, then there would not have any purpose of changing the Chief Minister. Thereafter, a new Chief Minister was nominated. Then on the day of polling, what led the ruling political party to cast false votes in the assembly constituency from where the present Chief Minister contested in the recently concluded by-election?”

“However, ruling party-backed miscreants faced obstructions from exercising false votes and it was high in the assembly constituency from where the present Chief Minister contested. If the situation would have been so favourable for the ruling BJP, then why such steps of false voting was initiated? The percentage of votes would have been higher compared to the assembly election held in 2018. But, the margin was less compared to the previous general assembly election”, he added.

Sarkar reiterated that there is no ‘rule of law’ and a ‘Jungle Raaj’ prevailed across the state. He said “Why electorates fail to exercise their democratic rights at a polling station in a school which is about 100 metres away from the residence of Chief Minister and DGP’s office. From this, it can be easily assumed what is the situation in Agartala city.”

The leader of the opposition claimed that the ruling party had introduced a new pattern of attacking the opposition leaders and supporters, their houses and even their means of livelihood. “We have witnessed terrorism of fascism during the Congress-TUJS coalition government in Tripura. We market it that regime as ‘semi-fascist terror’ and now, the present condition overtook it. During that period of 1988-1993, several murders took place. But now, murders are taking place, people are being looted and attacked, and there is no right to protest”, he also added.

Sarkar also reiterated that the battle in the assembly election of 2023 is to remove ‘Jungle Raaj’ and restore ‘Rule of Law’ in Tripura.