Tripura Polls 2023: Did PM Modi’s 'Vijay Sankalp' Rallies Turn The Tide In BJP’s Favour?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election rallies and road shows in Tripura over the past few days appear to have turned the tide in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s favour in the poll-bound state. 

PM Modi's rallies at Ambassa and Gomti on Saturday (11 February) and a rally and road show in state capital Agartala on Monday (13 February) have injected a massive dose of confidence among BJP leaders who now say that the party will win with a comfortable majority. 

BJP leaders and political analysts told Swarajya that the BJP’s star campaigner (Modi) has not only effectively neutralised the considerable anti-incumbency against the state government, but has also created a significant wave in favour of the saffron party. 

His sharp campaign speeches highlighting the achievements of the BJP government in Tripura, promising more fast-paced development for the next five years and holding up the advantages of a ‘double engine sarkar’ have gone down well with the electorate. 

“Modi has a different image and appeal. When he says something, people listen to him, they believe him. He is convincing and the masses genuinely believe he has their best interests at heart and will work for them,” explained media professional Ananta Deb. 

Modi had, in all his campaign speeches, highlighted the contradictions and the opportunistic nature of the Left-Congress alliance. The “kushti (wrestling) in Kerala and dosti in Tripura” part of his speeches worked as a strong blow to the alliance. 

“The common people have, thanks to Modi as well as other BJP leaders repeatedly harping on the opportunistic nature of the Left-Congress alliance, realised that the two have come together for their own convenience and self-preservation,” said Mrinmoy Deb, a prominent physician in Agartala who is also a social worker. 

Congress and Communist Party of India (Marxist) leaders acknowledged this, and tried to control the damage inflicted by Modi. But their efforts were largely futile because they could not defend the alliance that lacks any ideological basis and even political morality. 

“After Modi’s, and other BJP leaders’, campaign against the (Left-Congress) alliance, people had started asking questions and many have openly asked CPI(M) and Congress leaders if they have a common minimum programme and a detailed plan of action for governing the state jointly if they come to power," said Sagar Dutta, a professor of political science in Agartala. 

"Many senior CPI(M) and Congress leaders were asked these questions, but the only answers they gave were that they had joined hands with each other to defeat the BJP and ‘restore democracy’ in Tripura. So people remain unconvinced,” he added.

Dutta said that the inability of the Left and Congress leaders to defend their alliance, their contradictory proclamations denying that the two parties have formed an ‘alliance’ and, instead, calling it only a ‘pre-poll seat sharing arrangement’ have confused and put off many Left and Congress supporters (read this). 

“The campaign by the BJP against our alliance with the Congress has worked on the ground. Modi’s strong attack on our alliance has caused us a lot of damage, and that has been compounded by our leaders’ inability to offer a credible defence of the alliance,” admitted Moni Bhowmick, a CPI(M) office-bearer and school teacher in Agartala. 

A top Congress leader who did not want to be named told Swarajya that Modi’s campaign, especially the frontal attack on the Left-Congress deal, had inflicted a lot of damage. 

“Till Modi came into the (poll) picture, there was a lot of anti-incumbency against the BJP. But that dissipated after the strong campaign featuring top leaders of the BJP. And after Modi’s rallies and roadshow, mass sentiment seems to have turned in favour of the BJP,” said the Congress leader. 

Retired economics professor Haridev Bhattacharyya who runs a reputable tutorial in Agartala endorsed what the Congress leader said. 

“It is amazing how people connect with Modi and trust him completely. Till about ten days ago, the BJP was struggling to beat anti-incumbency. But now, people’s sentiments seem to have changed. People seem inclined to give the BJP another chance,” he told Swarajya. 

Gourhari Roy Mahasai, an educationist and social worker at Khowai who is also a strong Left supporter, acknowledged that the ‘Modi factor’ has changed the poll scene in the state. 

“We were quite confidently riding on anti-incumbency sentiments till Modi arrived and turned the tide. He made false promises again, but people inexplicably seem to have fallen for those promises once again. We also failed to come up with a strong strategy to counter Modi’s speeches,” he said.

The BJP’s strong campaign reminding people of the ‘dark days’ of Left rule in Tripura marked by violence, militancy, poverty and backwardness has also struck a strong chord. 

Modi has repeatedly reminded people of Tripura of the climate of fear that they used to live in during CPI(M) rule, and the morass of backwardness and poverty that the state was in. The memories of those fear-filled and dismal times are still fresh in people’s minds. 

“Poverty and backwardness still remains, but Modi’s promise of fast-paced development over the next five years found many takers. People have, again, bought the dream sold to them by Modi and his party,” said Aveek Roy Burman, a Congress leader at Khayerpur in West Tripura district. 

The roadshow by Prime Minister Modi on Monday (13 February) was a veritable knockout punch. The roadshow in Agartala drew a wide and enthusiastic response with thousands lining the streets and cheering Modi. 

“The response from the crowds gathered to see Modi was spontaneous and loud. Most of the people who lined the streets were not our workers but common people. They impulsively shouted ‘Modi, Modi’, cheered the Prime Minister and many even broke into ‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogans. That showed the wide support that we enjoy,” Chief Minister Manik Saha told Swarajya. 

BJP leaders are confident that people of Tripura will, once again, vote for the party on Thursday (16 February). They are sanguine that when the votes are counted on 2 March, the results will prove that their confidence was not misplaced. 

Also Read:

-Tripura Polls 2023: Why Congress-Left alliance is dysfunctional on the ground

PM Modi highlights BJP’s ‘Hira’ and ‘Tri-Shakti’ promises for Tripura in first 'Vijay Sankalp' Rally in State

Tripura Polls: The BJP faces anti-incumbency, but ‘Tina’ factor likely to propel its return to power