:2018 Tripura Legislative Assembly election

The term of the Tripura Legislative Assembly ended on 6 March 2018.{{Cite web|url=http://www.elections.in/upcoming-elections-in-india.html|title=Upcoming Elections in India|access-date=2017-03-13}} Having governed Tripura since the 1998 election, the ruling Left Front alliance, under Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, sought re-election. Meanwhile, the region in general had been under the political control of the CPI(M) for 25 years prior to the election, leading to the region being dubbed a "red holdout"{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/conquest-of-tripura-213106|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305063158/https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/conquest-of-tripura-213106|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 March 2018|title=Conquest of Tripura}} even when the 34-year uninterrupted rule of a CPI(M)-led alliance of Communist parties in West Bengal, the world's longest democratically elected Communist-led government, came to an end in 2011.

Their primary challengers came in the form of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which under the leadership of Narendra Modi was the governing party of India on a national level.{{cite web|url=http://www.uniindia.com/tripura-polls-communist-cadres-getting-feel-of-competition-from-new-foe-bjp/states/news/1128074.html|title=Tripura polls: Communist cadres getting feel of competition from new foe BJP|publisher=United News of India|access-date=2018-03-04}} The BJP is a Hindu nationalist party, whose policies directly oppose those of the Communists.{{cite journal |last1 = Banerjee |first1 = Sumanta |title = Civilising the BJP |journal = Economic & Political Weekly |date = 16–22 July 2005 |volume = 40 |issue = 29 |page = 3118 |jstor = 4416896 }} However, the party claimed no seats, and a mere 1.5% of the vote, in the region's previous election.{{cite news|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/north-east-india/tripura/tripura-election-results-2018-full-list-of-winners-5084676/|title=Tripura election results 2018: Full list of winners|date=3 March 2018|newspaper=The Indian Express | access-date=31 December 2018}} Once considered a political pariah in Northeast India due to its significant Christian tribal population & the party's association with the Sangh Parivar (which aimed to achieve Hindu unity by achieving a Hindi belt centric cultural homogenisation), the BJP following its victory in the 2014 general elections had swiflty formed a coalition of Northeast-centric smaller parties within its larger national coalition to challenge the Congress hold over the region. BJP's first breakthrough in Northeast India came with its victory in Assam's legislative assembly elections in 2016 over issues of Muslim appeasement & an alleged demographic change caused by uncontrolled illegal infiltration of Bengali Muslims from Bangladesh. The Bengali Hindu majority of Tripura, whose forefathers had migrated to the state during Partition of Bengal to escape persecution by Bengali Muslims in East Bengal & had been constantly bickering with the Kokborok-speaking native Tripuri population which had led to incidents of bloodshed like the Mandai massacre deeply resonated with BJP's campaign against illegal infiltration of Bangladeshi Muslims. BJP's alliance with the Tripuri outfit Indigenous People's Front of Tripura also drew Tripuri votes to itself.

BJP built up its organisation in the state by engineering defections from the Left Front & Trinamool Congress (which in turn was engineering defections from the Congress based on dissatisfaction of local cadre with the party's decision to ally with CPI(M) in 2016 West Bengal legislative assembly election, a notable defector being Sudip Ray Barman). Despite the relatively small size of the state, the election took on additional significance on a national level as it was an acid test to gauge the successes of the BJP ahead of the following year's general election,{{Cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/2135626/modis-nationalist-bjp-ends-25-year-communist-party-rule|title=Modi ends communists' 25-year rule in provincial vote|date=4 March 2018|website=South China Morning Post}} and a chance to strip the communists, the party's "primary ideological enemy", of its last stronghold.

Prior to the election, a number of workers of the BJP were murdered. The BJP alleged that the murders were committed by CPI(M) members, which the party denies.{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/north-east-india/tripura/booth-president-found-dead-bjp-alleges-12-murders-by-cpm-5060199/|title=Tripura: Booth president found dead, BJP alleges 12 murders by CPM|date=12 February 2018|access-date=7 June 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2018/jan/03/bjp-worker-hacked-to-death-in-poll-bound-tripura-1743497.html|title=BJP worker hacked to death in poll-bound Tripura|access-date=7 June 2018|archive-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141234/http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2018/jan/03/bjp-worker-hacked-to-death-in-poll-bound-tripura-1743497.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://scroll.in/article/861813/in-poll-bound-tripura-the-bjp-accuses-the-left-of-kerala-style-political-killings|title=In poll-bound Tripura, the BJP accuses the Left of Kerala-style political killings|first=Arunabh|last=Saikia|access-date=7 June 2018}}

With loosing this state, the CPI(M) party had only Kerala left under its rule in India.

The Election Commission of India announced that the Legislative Assembly elections in Tripura would be held on 18 February 2018 and the results would be announced on 3 March 2018.{{cite web |url=https://old.eci.gov.in/files/file/4539-announcement-of-schedule-for-general-elections-to-the-legislative-assemblies-of-meghalaya-nagaland-and-tripura-2018-english-%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%80/ |title=Announcement of schedule for General Elections to the Legislative Assemblies of Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura, 2018 (English / हिंदी) - Press Releases 2018 |publisher=Election Commission of India |date=18 January 2018 |author=Sumit Mukherjee |access-date= 28 November 2021}}

VVPAT-fitted EVMs was used in entire Tripura state in all polling stations in the 2018 elections, which was the first time that the entire state saw the implementation of VVPAT.{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/north-east/vvpat-training-in-tripura-183971|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107221801/https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/north-east/vvpat-training-in-tripura-183971|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 November 2017|title=VVPAT training in Tripura}}

The election took place in a single phase on 18 February 2018 with 89.8% voter turnout.{{cite news|title=त्रिपुरा विधानसभा चुनाव में 89.8 प्रतिशत मतदान|url=https://khabar.ndtv.com/news/assembly-polls-2018/tripura-election-2018-live-updates-polling-begins-for-59-out-of-the-total-60-seats-1814028|access-date=20 February 2018|publisher=NDTV|date=19 February 2018}} The results were announced on 3 March 2018.

297 candidates registered to contest the election.

The other major force in the election was the Indian National Congress, who had taken 36.5% of the popular vote in the region in 2013.{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/what-really-helped-bjp-win-tripura/articleshow/63147521.cms|title=What really helped BJP win Tripura|work=The Times of India}} They are also, on a wider scale, the largest force in opposing Modi and the BJP in parliament. As such, Rahul Gandhi, in his capacity as the party's leader, campaigned in the region.{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/elections/tripura-2018/cong-committed-to-tripura/article22777326.ece|title=Cong. committed to Tripura|first=Syed Sajjad|last=Ali|newspaper=The Hindu|date=16 February 2018|via=www.thehindu.com}} They were determined to prevent the BJP from seizing control on the region, as such an outcome would represent the "demise of the Left".{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/strong-left-necessary-for-india-congress-leader-jairam-ramesh-5085808/|title=Strong Left necessary for India: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh|date=4 March 2018}}

Prime Minister Narendra Modi ended his campaign by stating that Tripura deserves a diamond but in order to get it, it must let go of the manik ('semi-precious stone' in Bengali, also a word play on the name of incumbent CM Manik Sarkar) stuck to it.{{Cite web |date=2018-02-09 |title=It is time to throw away Manik and choose HIRA: PM Modi in Tripura |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/north-east-india/tripura/nobody-in-india-can-imagine-the-revolution-taking-place-in-tripura-says-pm-modi-manik-sarkar-5056527/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}

The incumbent Left Front government was defeated after 25 years of office out of which Manik Sarkar served for about 20 years, with the Bharatiya Janata Party and Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura winning a large majority of seats. The Indian National Congress, which was the second largest party in the 2013 election, lost all its seats and most of its vote share.

The BJP chose Biplab Kumar Deb to be the next Chief Minister. He said: "I am ready to take the responsibility. I will not run away from taking the responsibility. I have already been given a bigger responsibility, the party's state presidentship, which I have been fulfilling to the best of my ability. People responded favourably to our call 'Chalo Paltai' (let's change)." He claimed that having the same party in the central government and at the state level "helps in faster development." He further called for restraint in post-electoral violence: "We do not believe in the politics of vengeance and hatred, so we appeal to the people to maintain peace and calm." In addition he asserted that "the word development does not exist in the dictionary of the CPI-M. Our government will provide good governance and time-bound implementation of all developmental works."{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/report/gym-instructor-turned-politician-biplab-kumar-deb-likely-to-be-tripura-cm/20180304.htm|title=Gym instructor-turned-politician Biplab Kumar Deb likely to be Tripura CM - Rediff.com India News|website=www.rediff.com}}

Former Chief Minister of Kerala and senior CPI(M) leader V. S. Achuthanandan called for the party's leadership to ally with "secular forces" to defeat the Sangh Parivar: "The country is facing serious challenges. The Congress, which had ruled for decades in the post-independence period, has become weaker now. He supported party General Secretary Sitaram Yechury's call for an "understanding" with the INC as "a tactical move with secular forces was necessary."{{cite web |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/after-tripura-verdict-cpi-m-says-defeat-should-be-viewed-with-seriousness-1819506 |title=After Tripura Verdict, CPI(M) Says Defeat Should Be Viewed With Seriousness |date=4 March 2018 |agency=PTI |access-date= 12 July 2021}} The party's provincial minister claimed that the BJP had "misused" money and power at the central government in winning the election and that the "challenge to the democracy and the national integrity." Another CPM figure M. V. Jayarajan, private secretary to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, claimed that the INC voters and leaders were moving towards the BJP and that the result should "not be viewed lightly and all the patriots in the country have the responsibility to check and isolate any effort of the communal forces gaining strength in the country. Politburo member M. A. Baby said that while the result was "unexpected", he did "respect the verdict of the people." He added: "However, there is a decline of 6-7 per cent vote share of the Left front. It's a concern...how the erosion has taken place and why this happened will be dispassionately examined by the party in Tripura and the national leadership."{{Cite web|url=https://www.onmanorama.com/news/kerala/2018/03/04/defeat-in-tripura-should-be-viewed-with-seriousness-cpm.html|title=Defeat in Tripura should be viewed with seriousness: CPM|website=OnManorama}}

Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma derogatorily called for Manik Sarkar to be deported to Bangladesh{{Cite web |title="Manik Sarkar Can Go To Bengal, Kerala Or Bangladesh," Says BJP's Himanta Biswa Sarma |url=https://www.ndtv.com/assembly-tripura/manik-sarkar-can-go-to-bengal-kerala-or-bangladesh-says-bjps-himanta-biswa-sarma-1819170 |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=NDTV.com}} following CPI(M)'s defeat after it was revealed that in spite of being in power for 20 years, Sarkar didn't own a home in his name.{{Cite news |title=Out of 'sarkar', Manik and wife live in CPM office |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/out-of-sarkar-manik-and-wife-live-in-cpm-office/amp_articleshow/63209981.cms |access-date=2024-05-28 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}} Sarma had also made the same comments during campaign,{{Cite web |date=December 29, 2017 |title=Assam Minister threatens to send Tripura CM to Bangladesh |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/assam-minister-threatens-to-send-tripura-cm-to-bangladesh-117122900746_1.html |access-date=May 28, 2024 |website=www.business-standard.com}} which represents the long-standing hatred & disdain of the Assamese Hindu population towards both Bengali Muslims & Bengali Hindus.

BJP's victory in a Communist-ruled state having a Bengali Hindu majority (who had been long stereotyped of being largely averse to Hindu right wing ideology) had possible implications for the political scenario of West Bengal, as it represented the rising acceptability of BJP to the Bengali Hindu society at the cost of the decline of Communist ideology.

On 5th March 2018, 2 days after declaration of the polling results, a colossal statue of Vladimir Lenin installed by the Communist government in 2013 at Belonia was razed to the ground using a bulldozer by a mob of jubilant BJP supporters.{{Cite web |date=2018-03-06 |title=Tripura BJP workers, supporters bulldoze Lenin statue amid cries of ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’ |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/north-east-india/tripura/tripura-bjp-supporters-bulldoze-lenin-statue-5087372/ |access-date=2024-12-27 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}} On the next day, a similar incident of BJP supporters demolishing another Lenin's statue was reported at Sabroom.{{Cite news |last=Deb Barman |first=Priyanka |date=6 March 2018 |title=Tripura: Two Lenin statues toppled Amid violence, BJP-CPM in blame game |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/bjp-cpm-blame-game-ensues-in-violence-hit-tripura-as-toppled-lenin-statues-stoke-unrest/story-C63OiXvnRouuJ1gHWZCcGJ.html |work=Hindustan Times}}

Polling for the seat of Charilam was postponed to 12 March 2018 after the death of Communist Party of India (Marxist) incumbent candidate Ramendra Narayan Debbarma. The CPI(M) withdrew their candidate for the bypoll claiming that there was an increase in violence.{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}}

Despite this, the CPI(M) candidate continued to be present on the ballot paper, and subsequently lost their deposit.{{cite web|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-bjp-wins-tripura-s-charilam-assembly-contested-by-deputy-cm-after-post-poll-violence-delayed-counting-2594133|title=BJP wins Tripura's Charilam assembly contested by Deputy CM after post-poll violence delayed counting - Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis|date=15 March 2018|access-date=7 June 2018}}{{Cite web |url=http://ceotripura.nic.in/Docs/Form20_AC19.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=17 March 2018 |archive-date=17 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317231948/http://ceotripura.nic.in/Docs/Form20_AC19.pdf |url-status=dead }}

{{Election box begin|

title=Tripura Legislative Assembly Bypoll, 2018: Charilam{{cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/pti-feed/story/polling-underway-in-charilam-assembly-seat-in-tripura-1187456-2018-03-12|title=Polling underway in Charilam Assembly seat in Tripura|website=India Today|access-date=7 June 2018}}}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link||party=Bharatiya Janata Party|candidate=Jishnu Dev Varma|votes=26,580|percentage=90.81|change=}}

{{Election box candidate with party link||party=Communist Party of India (Marxist)|candidate=Palash Debbarma|votes=1030|percentage=3.51|change=}}

{{Election box candidate with party link||party=Indian National Congress|candidate=Arjun Debbarma|votes=775|percentage=2.64|change=}}

{{Election box candidate with party link||party=Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura|candidate=Uma Shankar Debbarma|votes=685|percentage=2.34|change=}}

{{Election box candidate with party link||party=Independent (politician)|candidate=Jyotilal Debbarma|votes=198|percentage=0.67|change=N/A}}

{{Election box majority||votes=25,550|percentage=87.29|change=}}

{{Election box turnout||votes=|percentage=|change=}}

{{Election box Registered electors|

|reg. electors =

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{{Election box gain with party link|

| winner = Bharatiya Janata Party

| loser = Communist Party of India (Marxist)

| swing =

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{{Election box end}}

• Elections in India
• 2018 elections in India
• Tripura Legislative Assembly

{{Reflist}}

• [http://eci.nic.in/eci/eci.html Election Commission of India]
• [https://www.indiavotes.com/vidhan-sabha/2018/tripura/264/25 Full results by district]

{{Tripura elections}}

Tripura

2018

Category:12th Tripura Legislative Assembly