December 11, 2018: Congress leaders and workers in Tripura celebrated Assembly polls victories in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and also, in Madhya Pradesh. Slogans hailing Sonia and Rahul Gandhi along with brass band thickened the air. In Agartala, Congress activists assembled in Congress Office and started celebration since afternoon.
Tripura PCC president Birajit Sinha while celebrating with Congress supporters, said, “It is a moment of celebration not just for the Congress but also for the people of this state. He hailed Rahul Gandhi’s leadership”.
BJP leaders, on the other hand, put up a brave face and exuded confidence that BJP would regain lost grounds before upcoming LS Polls in 2019. BJP State Observer Sunil Deodhar claimed, all three states where Congress was voted into power will send BJP MPs in Parliament in LS Polls. Tripura Chief Minister cum BJP State president Biplab Kumar Deb too exuded confidence that the party would come back strongly in LS Polls.
Tripura CPIM leaders too expressed satisfaction at the defeat of the saffron party and termed the defeat as a referendum of BJP’s anti-farmers, anti-people policies. Also, CPIM leaders were upbeat that two CPIM candidates in Rajasthan managed to secure victories in this election – in outgoing Rajasthan Assembly, CPIM had no elected representatives. Moreover, one All India Forward Bloc – an ally of Left Front also bagged a seat in Telangana.
Although CPIM Politburo hailed victories of anti-BJP forces in all but Mizoram, CPIM cautioned and mentioned some words of advice to the Congress.
“The new governments that will be formed in the former BJP-ruled states must respect the people’s verdict and adopt policies aimed at improving people’s livelihood and reducing their miseries. These governments must also ensure that the unity of the people and the integrity of the country are not further damaged by the BJP’s politics of communal polarization”, the CPIM Politburo said.
