Tripura Assembly Polls 2023: CPIM MLA Mabaswar Ali and ex-TMC State president Subal join BJP
In the run-up to the Assembly polls 2023 in Tripura, people are witnessing several firsts - one of those is that a sitting MLA of CPIM joined BJP on January 27.
Mabaswar Ali who was elected from Kailashahar constituency in Unakoti joined BJP in New Delhi in presence of BJP’s National spokesperson Dr Sambit Patra, Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha and State president Rajib Bhattacharjee on Friday (January 27). Also along with Ali, former Tripura TMC president Subal Bhowmik returned to BJP which he left before the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
In a Facebook post, Dr Saha welcomed the duo and said, CPIM MLA from Kailashahar Mabaswar Ali and former MLA Subal Bhowmik joined BJP in the BJP Headquarters in New Delhi today”.
CPIM-led Left Front announced its 47 candidates including one Independent candidate on January 25 last – it is also for the first time that Left Front is supporting an Independent in Tripura – leaving 13 seats its new ally in the State Congress and dropping eight sitting MLA including Mabaswar Ali from Kailashahar where Tripura Pradesh Congress Chief Birajit Sinha is likely to contest.
The move did not down well with the local CPIM leaders and supporters. Mabaswar also has considerable clout among the minority community which has a good presence in Kailashahar.
As far as BJP is concerned, joining of Mabaswar Ali, a staunch communist who batted for secularism, in New Delhi will enhance party’s image among the minority people.
Soon after the announcement of the candidate list, serious discontent was noticed among the Congress supporters as well as a section of the CPIM supporters. Mabaswar Ali became incommunicado after the candidate list announcement and finally, he was seen at the BJP HQ in New Delhi today.
Ali heaped praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s welfare measures which ‘benefitted the people of Tripura, as well’.
Meantime, in view of the growing discontent among the supporters of the Congress and CPIM, some of the other leaders and supporters are likely to join the saffron camp or other parties soon.
Congress and CPIM formed an alliance to minimize the splitting of anti-BJP votes – however, early indications of the emerging situation in Tripura are encouraging neither for Congress nor CPIM.