Sarkar appeals to CPI-M leaders to thwart any attempt of ‘rigging’

By  Firstdespatch Desk   Dec 24, 2022

Agartala, Dec 24 (FD) Former Chief Minister and leader of the opposition, Manik Sarkar has appealed to the party leaders to arrange all preparations so that they are able to freely exercise their franchise in the upcoming assembly elections in Tripura.

The last loksabha elections in the state was not free and fair and even the civic body elections were rigged in the state by the BJP activists, so the leaders of the communist party have to be more cautious and arrange all preparations, so that people can exercise their franchise freely, he said while addressing a gathering at Killa in South Tripura district on Friday.

Party leaders must organise people to ensure that electors are able to exercise their democratic right independently in the polls and also resist any attempt to prevent free and fair elections, he added..

Sarkar claimed that those who were "misguided" by the 'Cholo Paltai' (let's change) slogan of the BJP in the 2018 assembly elections are frustrated over the performance of the incumbent government.

"They have realised that their miseries will not be reversed if the present government stays in power. But you will be a fool if you think that anti-incumbency alone will be enough to unseat the present government from power," he said.

The former CM said party leaders have to take the lead in bringing those people, "who have been misguided in the last assembly polls", back to the right path to "install a pro-people government".    

In the 2018 assembly elections, a 7 per cent vote share of the CPI (M) was transferred to the BJP that had proved instrumental in the party's crushing defeat at the hands of the saffron camp.

State BJP leaders remained unavailable for a comment despite several attempts to reach out to them. FD JK