Leadership lull: Is Trinamool Congress taking a step back in Tripura?

The temporary lull on part of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leadership in the neighbourig State Tripura should not be misconstrued as an act of giving up. If TMC strategists are to be believed, it's a breathing time of the sort. It's time to cool off and to rework on strategies before reinitiating their build-up for the next State Legislative Assembly polls, due early 2023.

In its sincere effort to branch out beyond Bengal and eventually emerge as a national party, TMC leadership had narrowed down on neighbouring Tripura, currently ruled by the BJP. Subsequently, battery of TMC leaders started camping in Agartala and organizing several political events almost on a regular basis. However, the Saffron Brigade virtually swept the recently concluded civic body polls across the State. The overall results notwithstanding, TMC did quite well in and around the State capital - Agartala, garnering nearly 23 per cent votes in just three months time. TMC leadership understandably thinks this was no mean an achievement. Soon after the civic body polls, the ruling party in West Bengal had to face civic body polls in Kolkata, back home in Bengal. And therefore they had to call back all their leaders to the home state.

Significantly, however, there have been two other interesting developments, which were also in line with its national ambitions and goals. TMC leadership suddenly found Goa and Meghalaya to be lower-hanging fruits, as more switching of camps by a few leaders from the other camps in those states would make lot of difference and might even fuel and cause change of governments in those two States. All party stalwarts including the party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee paid visits to Goa. Mamata, however, is yet to go to Tripura, ever since her party started exploring options there.

This obviously fuelled speculations that TMC might be taking a step back in Tripura. TMC leadership, however, pooh-poohed such speculations saying that the think-tank and poll managers in the party might just be waiting for the right opportune moment to hit back.

A section of voters in Tripura think that there is a strong sentiment in favour of Mamata Banerjee in the Bengali dominated and Bengali speaking Tripura and Mamata's personal and direct participation in the poll process or campaign process would make lots of difference. They may therefore be wondering why the stormy petrel (who has also proved herself to be an able administrator and seasoned politician) is not coming to Agartala. TMC insiders point out that the party supremo might just be waiting for some miracles and spectacular results in Goa and Meghalaya before involving herself directly in Tripura. That would certainly add more muscles to TMC's campaign and Mission Tripura.

The BJP leadership, on its parts, seems to have taken a lesson or two from its Bengal experience and is not going overboard in its efforts to break other parties. On the contrary it is relying more on party's old war horses. Amidst such strategising and re-strategising, the otherwise tranquil, picturesque Tripura is eventually turning out to be a hotbed of politics.