Tag: TRIPURA

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INDIA 2024 India News Politics

Tripura CM not taking INDIA bloc lightly

Saha, a former Tripura state BJP president, said that the party fought an election with all seriousness and never considered the opponent parties as weak….reports Sujit Chakraborty

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha said that it is more than 100 per cent confirmed that Narendra Modi would become Prime Minister for a third term. Also, the BJP would easily win the two Lok Sabha seats in the state but we are not taking the INDIA bloc lightly, he added.

Saha, a former Tripura state BJP president, said that the party fought an election with all seriousness and never considered the opponent parties as weak.

“We are not complacent about the poll outcome in Tripura and other parts of the country. Our challenge is to increase our victory margin compared to the previous elections,” the Chief Minister said in an interview.

Admitting that there are still certain bases of the Left parties in Tripura, he said that the BJP has been trying to get better results in those assembly segments where the party comparatively does not perform satisfactorily or lost the seats to the opposition parties in last year’s February 16 assembly polls.

Tripura has two Lok Sabha seats and 60 assembly constituencies with 30 assembly segments falling in each parliamentary constituency.

In last year’s assembly polls, the ruling BJP won 32 seats while its ally, the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura secured one.

The tribal-based Tipra Motha Party (TMP) secured 13 seats while the CPI-M managed 11 seats and the Congress three. The CPI-M and the Congress contested the assembly polls in a seat-sharing arrangement.

The Chief Minister said that for the all round development of the northeast and the welfare of the people and to establish peace in the region, the Narendra Modi government has signed 12 agreements with various organisations and communities in the region including one with the TMP on March 2.

“The tripartite accord with the TMP would further develop the 12 lakh Janajati (tribals) and would boost their socio economic condition and make them happy besides facilitating smooth development in the tribal areas.”

After the March 2 agreement, the erstwhile opposition party TMP joined the BJP government on March 7 and two of the party’s MLAs became ministers in the BJP led government.

“Despite agreement with the TMP, our Janjati Moracha (tribal wing of the BJP) would further step up its activities in the tribal areas. There would be no problem. We would go with our own policies, strategies and mission,” the septuagenarian dental surgeon-turned-politician said.

Saha, who was also a Rajya Sabha member for a brief period before becoming the Chief Minister in May 2022 after former chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb resigned from the top post, said that as the people have gladly accepted the BJP government’s policies and governance, our responsibilities have increased further.

Noting that the Lok Sabha elections are being held on national issues, the Chief Minister said that due to PM Modi, the credibility of the BJP has increased not only in the country but all over the world.

“Whenever the Modi government and our party promised anything, these were always fulfilled. Be it the issue of Article 370, Ram Mandir, CAA or Triple Talaq, we fulfilled all the promises,” he said adding that with the Pran Pratishtha of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, PM Modi has realised the 500 year old hopes and aspirations of Indians and crores of people living abroad.

Slamming the CPI-M and the Congress for their slogan to protect democracy and the Constitution, Saha said that the two parties have no moral right to speak about democracy.

“We have all records that during the regimes of both the Congress and the Left parties many innocent people and leaders belonging to the opposition parties were killed.

“The CPI-M government could not protect its own former Health Minister Bmal Sinha (who was killed by militants in March 1998). Several MLAs were also murdered during the Left governance,” he pointed out.

Saha said that people have experienced the CPI-M’s governance in Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura and their experience has been very horrific.

“Who is the face of the INDIA bloc? The alliance is in disarray. With no credibility, they are fooling the people,” remarked Saha, who in last year’s assembly polls was re-elected from the Town Bordowali seat for the second time after defeating state Congress president Asish Kumar Saha.

Polling for the Tripura West Parliamentary seat will be held on April 19 in the first of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections, while the Tripura East (ST) constituency will go to the polls in the second phase on April 26.

The by-election to the Ramnagar Assembly seat will also be held on April 19. The seat fell vacant after the demise of sitting BJP MLA Surajit Datta on December 28 last year.

In all 18 candidates, including two women, are contesting the two Lok Sabha seats while two candidates, one each from the BJP and the CPI-M, are trying their electoral fortunes in the Ramnagar Assembly by-poll.

In the Lok Sabha poll for the two seats, the main contest is expected to be between the BJP and the INDIA bloc, comprising the Congress, CPI-M and six other parties.

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Home voting begins in West Tripura LS seat

Significantly, almost 5000 voters had opted for home voting in the West Tripura Lok Sabha constituency….reports Asian Lite News

The home voting for the elderly and person with disabilities begins in West Tripura Lok Sabha on Wednesday and will persist until April 12.

Significantly, almost 5000 voters had opted for home voting in the West Tripura Lok Sabha constituency.

“People whose age is more than 85+ years and those who have more than 40 per cent PwD can opt for home voting,” stated Returning Officer & District Election Officer Dr Vishal Kumar.

He further said that in the whole West Tripura Lok Sabha constituency, we have arranged about 200 teams for the home voting process. Everything is running fine and we are working on it.

“In Tripura, we have received about 9500 forms for home voting, of which nearly 4500 are in the west Tripura Lok Sabha constituency. The rest of the forms have been received from the East Tripura Lok Sabha constituency,” he added.

Meanwhile, Former BJP MLA and senior advocate Arun Chandra Bhowmik joined the Congress party on Wednesday in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. He was welcomed by AICC-in-charge of Tripura, Girish Chodankar at an election rally held in Agartala today.

Reportedly, Bhowmik was denied a ticket in the last assembly elections by the BJP and since then he has not been active in party activities.

Notably, the elections are scheduled to be held in two phases in the state. The West Tripura seat will go to the polls on April 19, while the East Tripura seat will witness voting on April 26. The counting of votes will be held on June 4.

The election for 543 Lok Sabha seats in the country will be held in seven phases, starting on April 19 and ending on June 1. Nearly 97 crore voters are eligible to cast a vote in the general election. (ANI)

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Tripura gears up for polls with enhanced security

The Chief Electoral Officer, Puneet Agarwal, discussed the meticulous planning that is being done to ensure smooth polls….reports Asian Lite News

The northeastern state of Tripura is making comprehensive preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, with a keen focus on ensuring a free, fair, and peaceful voting process.

While talking to ANI, the Chief Electoral Officer, Puneet Agarwal, discussed the meticulous planning that is being done to ensure smooth polls. Agarwal emphasised the goal of achieving maximum voter turnout, reflecting the democratic ethos of the state and its people.

“The wide guidelines given by the Election Commission of India have been followed, and in all the districts having different constituencies, the ARO (assistant returning officers) are working. In the two parliamentary constituencies, Tripura 1 West and Tripura 2 East, the ROs (returning officers), District Magistrates of West Tripura and Dhalai Tripura have taken the necessary action to arrange a fair election procedure,” Agarwal said.

He further said that, from a security point of view, to strengthen the state police, nearly 70 companies of central forces (CAPF) had already arrived and more than 15 companies of central forces are yet to come.

“The forces had taken charge of all the security measures and have been dominating the vulnerable areas. Flag marches, foot patrolling and mobile patrolling are going on both days and nights. The ROs, AROs, SDMs and SDPOs are continuously monitoring the whole process. We are ready to conduct fair and complete violence-free elections,” Agarwal added.

West Tripura District Election Officer and Returning Officer Vishal Kumar made a detailed inspection of the premises, verifying the readiness and security of the arrangements. His findings underscore the state’s commitment to conducting a seamless electoral process.

“For the election going to be held on April 19 in the West Tripura Lok Sabha Constituency, the necessary preparations have been completed. Especially the counting hall and Strong Room preparation are complete. Especially among 30 assembly segments, 14 assembly segments are under West Tripura Lok Sabha Constituency, For them, the preparation of the recipient centre and dispatch centre is going quickly and will be completed within 4-5 days. I want to assure all the voters and especially all the political parties that all work related to Counting Hall and Strong Rooms is well completed and we are ready to conduct a free and fair election,” Kumar said.

Adding to the preparations, Tripura West District’s Superintendent of Police, Kiran Kumar, affirmed the robust security measures in place. These measures aim to create a conducive environment for voters, free from fear and intimidation, reinforcing the sanctity of the electoral process.

“We had made a detailed arrangement for the upcoming election. Central forces had also arrived and more forces were yet to come. We are doing regular flag marches and night patrols. All the sensitive places are covered by policies. We are having SST 42 Naka checkpoints and 42 FST Naka points in which vehicle checking is going on. We had made a complaint cell; whatever political complaint came, we took action immediately. All the SDPOs and Police sector officers are informed immediately and take action. Every measure is taken to perform a proper and fair election,” Kiran said.

The elections for two parliamentary seats, along with a by-election for the 7-Ramnagar Assembly Constituency, are scheduled for April 18 and April 26. (ANI)

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BJP retains Tripura, Nagaland; Meghalaya hung

Prime Minister Narendra Modi garlanded by BJP President JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during celebrations after the party's victory in Assembly election at BJP party headquarter in New Delhi on Thursday. (Photo: Wasim Sarvar/IANS)

The BJP which had created a big splash in 2018 elections by ousting the Left parties from power in Tripura, returned to power in the state with absolute majority…reports Asian Lite News

The BJP created history on Thursday by returning to power in Tripura and the NDPP-BJP alliance swept the polls in Nagalanad. The BJP is also part of the sweepstakes to form government in Meghalaya having decided to extend support to the National People’s Party which emerged as the single-largest party with 26 seats.

BJP and NPP were partners in the outgoing government but had contested the polls separately. BJP’s performance in the assembly polls in the three northeastern states showed its continued dominance in the region, which was once a Congress stronghold. The outcome meant that there will be no change of government in the three northeastern states in the results declared on Thursday. Assembly polls in the three states were held last month.

The parties opposed to BJP did relatively better in the results of assembly bypolls.

The BJP which had created a big splash in 2018 elections by ousting the Left parties from power in Tripura, returned to power in the state with absolute majority. Its ally Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) won one seat of the six it contested.

Tipra Motha, which fought the polls on its demand of ‘greater Tipraland’ made a mark by winning 13 seats.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 32 seats with a vote share of around 39 per cent. The Left parties and Congress had forged an alliance to keep BJP out of power in the border state but it did not yield results as in West Bengal earlier. CPI-M and Congerss are arch rivals in Kerala. Together polled around 33 per cent votes in Tripura and bagged 14 seats (CPI-M 11, Congress 3). The Left had contested on 47 and Congress on 13 seats. The Left Front had been in power in Tripura for 35 years since 1978.

The BJP tally is marginally lower than its number in 2018 election when it had won 36 seats in Tripura and IPFT had also done well.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that vote in Tripura was that for “progress and stability”.

“Thank you Tripura! This is a vote for progress and stability. @BJP4Tripura will continue to boost the state’s growth trajectory. I am proud of all Tripura BJP Karyakartas for their spectacular efforts at the grassroots,” PM Modi said in a tweet.

He later addressed BJP workers at party headquarters here over the resutls in the three northeastern states.

Chief Minister Manik Saha defeated Congress’ Asish Kumar Saha from the Town Bordowali seat by a margin of 1,257 votes.

In Nagaland, BJP secured 12 seats, Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) won 25 seats.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) bagged seven seats, National People’s Party (NPP) won five seats, Naga Peoples Front, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Republican Party of India (Athawale) won two seats each. Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) got one seat.

BJP had earlier won a seat uncontested in the 60-member Nagaland assembly.

Nagaland Chief Minister and NDPP candidate Neiphiu Rio won from the Northern Angami seat.

In Meghalaya, National People’s Party (NPP) led by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma surprised its rivals by winning 26 seats. The party is poised to lead second successive government in the state. Election was held on 59 seats in the state.

United Democratic Party (UDP) bagged 11 seats.

Congress won five seats. Trinamool Congress, which had inducted all Congress MLAs in the previous assembly, also got five seats.

BJP, People’s Democratic Front and Hill State People’s Democratic Party bagged two seats each. Voice of the People Party got four seats. Two seats were won by independent candidates.

Congress won a seat each in the assembly bypolls in West Bengal, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

Congress is part of DMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu and the result is a setback for AIADMK which is grappling with internal tussles.

Congress candidate Ravindra Dhangekar won Pune’s Kasba Assembly seat, considered a BJP bastion. Chinchwad seat was won by the BJP. These were the first elections since the Election Commission recognised the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as the real Shiv Sena giving it the party name and symbol. The faction led by Uddhav Thackeray had supported Congress and NCP candidates on the two seats.

In Jharkhand, the assembly bypoll to Ramgarh seat was won by All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) an ally of BJP.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flashes victory sign at BJP workers as party President J P Nadda and Union Minister Amit Shah look on during celebrations after the party’s good performance in Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya Assembly polls, at the BJP HQ in New Delhi, Thursday, March 2, 2023
Prime Minister Narendra Modi flashes victory sign at BJP workers as party President J P Nadda and Union Minister Amit Shah look on during celebrations after the party’s good performance in Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya Assembly polls, at the BJP HQ in New Delhi, Thursday, March 2, 2023
Prime Minister Narendra Modi flashes victory sign at BJP workers as party President J P Nadda and Union Minister Amit Shah look on during celebrations after the party’s good performance in Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya Assembly polls, at the BJP HQ in New Delhi, Thursday, March 2, 2023
Prime Minister Narendra Modi flashes victory sign at BJP workers as party President J P Nadda and Union Minister Amit Shah look on during celebrations after the party’s good performance in Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya Assembly polls, at the BJP HQ in New Delhi, Thursday, March 2, 2023
Prime Minister Narendra Modi flashes victory sign at BJP workers as party President J P Nadda and Union Minister Amit Shah look on during celebrations after the party’s good performance in Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya Assembly polls, at the BJP HQ in New Delhi, Thursday, March 2, 2023

Home Minister Amit Shah hailed the party’s performance in Tripura and Nagaland and said it was a historic day for the northeast.

“A historic day for the Northeast. I thank Tripura for placing trust in BJP once again. It is a victory of pro-development politics that the BJP has delivered in Tripura under PM @narendramodi Ji’s leadership. Together we will move ahead and build a prosperous Tripura,” he said.

He thanked people of Nagaland and Meghalaya for their support and lauded the work of party workers.

The BJP will hope to carry its election momentum in the six other assembly polls to be held later this year. (ANI)

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Exit polls predict big win for BJP in Tripura, Nagaland

An aggregate of exit polls showed the NDA will come to power in Nagaland, Meghalaya. Its performance in Tripura may be lacklustre compared to 2018…reports Asian Lite News

The ruling NDPP-BJP alliance would retain power in Nagaland, while BJP has a clear edge over its rivals in Tripura, exit polls predicted on Monday as they forecast a close race in Meghalaya.

The outcome of exit polls was telecast by news channels after the conclusion of polling in Meghalaya and Tripura on Monday. Tripura had gone to the polls on February 16. In Tripura where the BJP created history in 2018 by wresting the state from Left parties, the exit polls predicted that the BJP will be ahead of its rivals or get majority.

India Today-Axis My India exit poll predicted that BJP would get 36-45 seats and the Left-Congress will get 6-11 seats. The exit poll gave 9-16 seats to Tipra Motha.

The ZeeNews-Matrize exit poll predicted that BJP-IPFT will get 29-36 seats in the 60-member House. It said Left-Congress combine is poised to get 13-21 seats and Tipra Motha 11-16.

The ETG-Times Now poll predicted BJP would get 24 seats, Left-Congress would get 21 seats and Tipra Motha 14 seats. The BJP had won 36 seats in the 2018 assembly election.

For the 60-member Nagaland assembly, India Today-Axis My India exit poll predicted that the NDPP-BJP alliance would get 38 to 48 seats.

It said Congress is likely to win 1-2 seats, NPF may win 3-8 seats and other parties could get 5-15 seats.

According to Zee-Matriz exit poll, NDPP-BJP alliance could get 35-43 seats.

ETG-Times Now poll gave 27-33 seats to NDPP, 12-16 seats to BJP and 4-8 seats to NPF.

In the 60-member Meghalaya assembly, Zee-Matrize exit poll predicted NPP will get 21-26 seats, Trinamool Congress 8-13 seats, BJP 6-11 seats and Congress 3-6 seats.

India Today-Axis My India exit poll for the state predicted NPP getting 18-24 seats, Congress (6-12), BJP (4-8), UDP (8-12 seats) and TMC (5-9) seats.

Times Now ETG exit poll predicted that NPP will get 18-26 seats, AITMC 8-14 seats, UDP 8-14 seats and BJP 3-6 seats.

The counting of votes in all three states will take place on March 2.

All options open, says Meghalaya

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma is likely to form a post-poll alliance, indicated exit polls conducted by a number of media houses.

The exit polls further pointed out that the northeastern state would have a hung house, with Sangma’s National People’s Party (NPP) emerging as the single-largest party. Following this, Conrad Sangma said that he would keep all options to form a stable government.

“We will keep all our options open to form a stable government. We are happy to see the trend is in line as we expected to get more seats than we received last time,” said Sangma.

To form a stable government, Sangma said, decision would taken considering the best interest of the state.

“When it comes to forming a stable government as and when the situation arrives we will move forward considering the best interest of the state,” he said.

The ruling NDPP-BJP alliance would retain power in Nagaland, while BJP has a clear edge over its rivals in Tripura, exit polls predicted as they forecast a close race in Meghalaya.

EC to hold peace meetings

The Election Commission said that it will hold peace meetings on Monday and Tuesday to avert any law and order problem in the state after election results are declared on March 2.

The Chief Election Officer, Kiran Gitte said that they had meetings with all political parties in this regard. “After poll results, a law and order situation can occur. Peace meetings to be held on February 27 and 28,” the Chief Election officer said, adding, “People will be requested to pass a resolution to maintain peace”.

The development comes after a person allegedly sustained a leg injury after clashes had broken out between supporters of the ruling BJP and Opposition CPI during the polling for Tripura assembly elections outside a polling booth earlier in the month.

The alleged incident had taken place outside the Kalacherra polling station in Shantirbazaar Assembly constituency in the south Tripura district.

On Thursday, Tripura Chief Electoral Officer Kiran Gitte conducted review meetings in South Tripura, Gomati and Sepahijala districts ahead of the counting of votes of recently held Tripura Assembly polls.

The review meeting was conducted in the presence of state Chief Secretary JK Sinha and Director General of Police (DGP) Amitabh Ranjan and Additional DGP Saurabh Tripathi.

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Tripura records over 81% turnout

Many incidents of attacks on political workers, intimidation and obstruction of voters were reported from different districts…reports Asian Lite News

Over 81 per cent of the 28.14 lakh voters in Trpura exercised their franchise till 4 p.m. as the state went to the polls on Thursday amid heavy security, election officials said.

Voter turnout was 91.82 per cent and 89.38 per cent in 2013 and 2018 Assembly elections, respectively.

“Over one lakh voters are still in the queue at many polling stations across the state even after the voting officially ended at 4 p.m. The final voting percentage might cross 86 per cent,” an election official said.

Many incidents of attacks on political workers, intimidation and obstruction of voters were reported from different districts.

At least 60 opposition party workers were injured after the ruling party workers allegedly attacked them in Gomati, Sepahijala, South Tripura and West Tripura districts.

The main opposition CPI-M alleged that the BJP workers evicted their candidates’ polling agents in more than 25 polling stations in four districts.

Tripura Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Gitte Kirankumar Dinkarrao said that wherever the authority got any information of trouble, security forces were immediately rushed to those areas to resolve the problems.

A senior police officer said that a constable was suspended in Gomati district for his alleged role in urging people to cast their votes in favour of the ruling BJP.

Opposition parties, including the CPI-M and the Congress, complained that at several places, including Santirbazar, Hrishamukh, Dhanpur and Kakraban, the ruling party workers obstructed the voters supporting the opposition parties.

Earlier, men, women and first-time voters queued up in front of the polling stations well before the voting started at 7 a.m. in eight districts.

Reang tribals, who were displaced 26 years ago from Mizoram following ethnic trouble, and voters residing in the zero line of the India-Bangladesh border (outside the fencing) also exercised their franchise.

The CEO said that a total of 259 candidates, including 31 women, are in the fray for the election to the 60-member House, and of them, the highest number of candidates (55) has been fielded by the ruling BJP, followed by the CPI-M (43), Tipra Motha Party (42), Trinamool Congress (28), and Congress (13).

A total of 58 Independent candidates and 14 nominees from various smaller parties are also contesting the elections.

Around 31,000 personnel were stationed at 3,327 polling stations to conduct the elections.

In all, 28.14 lakh voters, including 13.99 lakh women, were eligible to cast their votes in Thursday’s balloting.

A senior police officer said that the Union Home Ministry has provided 400 companies (30,000 security personnel) of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) while around 9,000 Tripura State Rifles jawans and over 6,000 Tripura Police personnel were deployed to hold fair and violence-free elections.

Massive seizures in three poll-bound states

A record seizure of cash, liquor, drugs and precious metals worth Rs 147.84 crore has been made from the three poll-bound states – Tripura, Nagaland, and Meghalaya, according to a statement by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday.

The ECI’s thrust on “inducement-free” elections has led to sustained efforts for monitoring election expenditure in the three poll-going states. The record seizure in the three states marks a significant increase of over 20 times as compared to the last Assembly Elections in 2018, the poll body said in a statement.

“Big Operations include seizure of 3.52 kg of heroin in Dhalai district amounting 10.58 Crores made by Police. Seizures of Heroin were also reported from East Khasi Hills District in Meghalaya (2.447 kg) and from Chumoukedima District in Nagaland (2.27 kg), done by DRI,” it said.

During visits to these poll-going states, the Election Commission had exhaustively reviewed the preparations with Central and State enforcement agencies.

While announcing the Assembly Elections in these northeastern states, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar had stressed the increased vigil and zero tolerance on the distribution of inducements during the electoral process.

Voters in Tripura are today exercising their franchise in the Assembly elections.

The counting of votes will take place on March 2, coinciding with the date of the Meghalaya and Nagaland Assembly polls results.

Tripura is the first state to go to the polls this year. While polling for Nagaland and Meghalaya assemblies will be held on February 27, five more states face elections this year in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. (ANI)

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Tripura, Meghalaya seek to reopen ‘Border Haats’

Officials in Shillong said that while the “Border Haat” at Balat in East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya was recently reopened, the “Border Haat” at Kalaichar in South West Garo Hills district is yet to re-open…reports Asian Lite News

The Tripura and Meghalaya governments have urged both India and Bangladesh to reopen the “Border Haats” (markets) to promote the local business and livelihood of the people living on either side of the border.

The four “Border Haats”, two each in Tripura and Meghalaya, have remained closed since March 2020 after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdown, causing “immense loss” to the people living in the bordering villages.

Officials of the Tripura Industries and Commerce Department said that the district administration officials of the state’s Sepahijala and South Tripura districts have on a number of occasions approached their Bangladesh counterparts to reopen the “Border Haats” as the Covid-19 induced situation has been largely tamed.

“Bangladesh district officials said that the concerned government ministries in Dhaka were yet to allow them to reopen the markets,” officials told.

In Meghalaya, the East Khasi Hills and South West Garo Hills district officials also approached their counterparts in Bangladesh to reopen the “Border Haats”.

Officials in Shillong said that while the “Border Haat” at Balat in East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya was recently reopened, the “Border Haat” at Kalaichar in South West Garo Hills district is yet to re-open.

Jaipur-based think tank CUTS International, which has done several studies on the border trade, had also recommended to the Indian government to resume these border markets maintaining necessary precautions against Covid-19, including social distancing as these markets boost the economy, cement ties between the people of the two countries and also check illegal trade.

CUTS International Executive Director Bipul Chatterjee said that reopening of the “Border Haat” would help local stakeholders on both sides of the border to regain their livelihood and can act as a significant contributor to the post-Covid recovery of the local economy in these border areas.

Citing the local haat management committee’s records, Chatterjee told IANS that just before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the combined annual trade value of Balat and Kalaichar “Border Haats” was nearly Rs 546 million and that in Kamalasagar (Sepahijala district) and Srinagar (South Tripura district) the trade in “Border Haats” in Tripura was Rs 148 million per year.

“That’s huge for these local economies and they have significant multiplier effects as that money is usually circulated among the local communities,” he pointed out.

Over the last decade, 10 “Border Haats” were established or approved along the India-Bangladesh border at Tripura and Meghalaya. Out of them, six are in Meghalaya, and four in Tripura.

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Tribal party’s mega rally rocks Tripura politics

Focusing on the “Tipraland” issue the IPFT in the 2018 assembly polls secured eight of the 20 tribal reserve seats, which over the decades were the strongholds of the CPI-M…reports Asian Lite News

A mega rally in Agartala organised by the tribal based party TIPRA (Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance) that has been demanding “Greater Tipraland”, displayed their strength ahead of the next year’s assembly elections in Tripura, causing a concern to the major political parties.

Though TIPRA’s “Greater Tipraland” demand remained vague among the cross section of the people as it has no provision in the Indian constitution, the slogan largely attracted the minority tribals, who constitute one third of Tripura’s four million populations.

The demand for a ‘Greater Tipraland’ was raised few years back after the ruling BJP’s ally Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) got a massive support from the indigenous tribals when it ahead of the 2018 assembly elections vociferously demanded for “Tipraland” which sought a separate state for the Tripura tribals upgrading the existing Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).

The politically most important TTAADC has a jurisdiction on over two-thirds of Tripura’s 10,491 sq km area and is home to over 12,16,000 people, of which around 84 per cent are tribals.

Focusing on the “Tipraland” issue the IPFT in the 2018 assembly polls secured eight of the 20 tribal reserve seats, which over the decades were the strongholds of the CPI-M.

After the TIPRA, headed by Tripura’s royal scion Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barman, captured the politically powerful TTAADC in April last year, the political significance of the new party in the mixed populated Tripura has further reinforced.

Defeating the BJP and the CPI-M, the TIPRA scripted history in the northeastern state by capturing the TTAADC, which is considered as a mini-legislative assembly of Tripura.

Political circles observed that Saturday’s first mega rally of TIPRA was bigger than the BJP’s public gathering on March 8 and CPI-M’s mass rally on February 24.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and CPI-M General secretary Sitaram Yechury, party’s politburo members Prakash Karat and Manik Sarkar addressed the respective party’s gatherings. TIPRA supremo Deb Barman on Saturday announced to put up candidates at least in 35 seats in the next Assembly election on its own, putting a big challenge to the BJP and the CPI-M.

The TIPRA leaders while explaining about their ‘Greater Tipraland’ demand said that under the concept they wanted to improve the socio-economic conditions of the backward tribals living in the northeastern states of India, neighbouring Bangladesh, Myanmar and adjoining areas.

The BJP, CPI-M and the Congress though strongly opposed the IPFT’s “Tipraland” demand, the political parties officially not saying anything against the ‘Greater Tipraland’ demand apprehending loss of tribals’ support in the next elections.

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How Tripura played its part during Bangladesh Liberation War

The state government and the Government of Bangladesh have lined up several events and functions to mark the day. Dhaka has also proposed to set up a Bangabandhu Centre in Tripura University…reports Mahua Venkatesh

As India and Bangladesh gear up to celebrate December 16 marked as Vijay Diwas for the South Asian nation, elaborate preparations are on even in the small northeastern state of Tripura. An emotional Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her trip Agartala in 2012 had recalled the immense contribution of the people of the northeatern state.

“If Bangladesh is India-locked, Tripura is Bangladesh-locked – goes an adage in the region,” a study by the Observer Research Foundation noted.

India-Bangladesh relations have typically been driven by an overpowering narrative that emphasizes the commonalities between the people of West Bengal and the South Asian nation. True the two share common culture, language and food habits but the role of other states including that of Tripura, that is almost tucked within Bangladesh, cannot be ignored.

“About 84 per cent of the state’s border is actually with Bangladesh and Tripura had also a significant contribution in the 197 Liberation War,” Ashish Nath Professor, Department of Economics, Tripura University said.

The state government and the Government of Bangladesh have lined up several events and functions to mark the day. Dhaka has also proposed to set up a Bangabandhu Centre in Tripura University.

Nath said that during the war, the state government of Tripura opened its door to lakhs of refugees coming from the erstwhile East Pakistan- now Bangladesh. The state government provided “all kinds of support to the helpless refugees.”

Another analyst said that notwithstanding the political contours that drive New Delhi and Dhaka and the occasional ups and downs, the people of Tripura and Bangladesh have continued to maintain a strong bond. “The people living on both sides of the border have the same life, problems and livelihood..there are talks of increasing people to people contact but here we have always seen a continuation of that tradition,” he said.

Small wonder therefore that Seemin Hossain Rimi, member of Bangladesh Parliament and daughter of Tajuddin Ahmad, the country’s first prime minister, visited Tripura just a few days ago. Regarded as one of the architects of Bangladesh, Ahmad, as the Prime Minister, had led the country’s Provisional Government during the Liberation War in 1971.

Picture of former PM Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Photo/ANI)

Rimi who “along with her family escaped to Tripura after a murderous military crackdown during the 1971 war for the liberation of Bangladesh, has made the journey back to thank the people of the tiny northeastern state.”

The news agency further noted that Sonamura, a small town bordering the Comilla district of Bangladesh sheltered thousands of refugees from Bangladesh. Not just that, during the war it also “housed a training camp for Mukti Bahini (Free Bangladesh forces) as well as a makeshift hospital for them.”

During her visit Hasina said, “Our freedom-fighters also received training and support on this side of the border, and eventually fought with our Indian friends to the final surrender of the occupation forces and liberation of Bangladesh on 16 December 1971. How can we not remember with gratitude our friends in need in Tripura and India?”

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