The rise and fall of Left Front in Tripura

The Left Front, which ruled Tripura for 25 years till 2018, is joined hands with Congress to take on the BJP, which witnessed over a 30-per cent rise in its vote share in the last assembly elections.

Going by the early trends, the Left Front has failed to overpower the BJP despite entering the seat-sharing agreement with Congress. According to the seat adjustment, the CPI-M contested 43 seats, and its Left Front partners the Forward Block, the Revolutionary Socialist Party and the Communist Party of India one each.

The Left Front has supported an independent candidate in the Ramnagar constituency in West Tripura and the Congress contested 13 seats.

The Rise and Fall of Left Front
The Left Front had secured just one seat in the first-ever election held in the state in 1967. However, it just took 10 years to come to power with a bang in Tripura as it won 51 seats in 1977. The Left Front governed Tripura from 1978-1988, and again from 1993 to 2018.

Especially, the Left Front remained the dominant force between 1993 and 2018. However, the BJP gave a major blow and the saffron party's victory is one of the biggest upsets in recent years. Although it lost about six per cent vote share, the seat count was reduced to 16.

The below graph clearly tells the story of the Left Front's rise and fall in Tripura.