Political colours: This Holi season, ‘saffron’ is in demand in ‘red bastion’ Tripura

Does preference of any particular colour hold any 'political' meaning? In Left-ruled Tripura it does, especially during Holi and election season.

Agartala, Feb 28: Does preference of any particular colour hold any 'political' meaning? In Left-ruled Tripura, it does, especially during Holi and election season. While the festival of colours will start from March 1, the results of Tripura Assembly elections 2018, held on February 18, will be out on March 3. Thus "colours" are playing a big role in the northeastern state. According to reports, in the last few days, the main wholesale market selling various colours (abir or gulal) in Agartala, the capital city, is witnessing an unprecedented demand for "saffron" colour. While colour red too is popular, but the sudden change of preference of colour from red to saffron is sending some sort of "political" message, feel poll pundits.

Saffron is associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which is hoping to defeat the ruling Left Front government in the state. Red, as we all know, is the colour that defines Left or Communist parties. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M))-led Left Front government is in power in the state for the last 25 years.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Arjun Paul, a wholesale trader of gulal, said that there was a massive demand for colours, especially saffron, this Holi festival. Like Holi revellers, who are buying saffron colours in bulk, two exit polls, the results of which were announced on Tuesday, stated that the BJP-Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) alliance is going to come to power in Tripura by defeating the Manik Sarkar government.

One more exit poll result predicts a close contest between the BJP and the CPI (M)-led Left Front government. JanKiBaat-NewsX has predicted that the BJP-IPFT alliance in Tripura will win 35-45 seats with a vote share of 51 per cent. While another exit poll by AxisMyIndia predicts 44-50 seats for the BJP-IPFT with a vote share of 49 per cent and others may get 0-3 seats with a vote share of 11 per cent.

The ruling Left Front in Tripura is likely to get 14-23 seats with a vote share of 45-46 per cent, while AxisMyIndia poll predicted the Left to win 9-15 seats with a vote share of 40 per cent.

The CVoter Exit Poll has predicted a close finish in Tripura, with the CPI-M likely to get 26 to 34 seats with 44.3 per cent vote share, the BJP and its allies 24 to 32 seats with a vote share of 42.8 per cent, while the Congress may win only 0-2 seats with a vote share of 7.2 per cent. Tripura has a 60-member Assembly.

This time, the BJP had extensively campaigned in the Left bastion with the aim to dethrone the Sarkar government. From Prime Minister Narendra Modi to BJP chief Amit Shah, all the big national leaders of the BJP campaigned in the state with the promise to bring development in Tripura if the party comes to power.

The BJP's slogan during the election campaign was "Chalo Paltai (Let's Change)", a clarion call, to ouster the Left Front government from the state. If the results of exit polls and demand for saffron colour are any indications, Tripura seems to be heading towards a political change after decades.

OneIndia News