Will Left be able to prove exit polls wrong by winning Tripura Assembly elections?

Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy expressed doubts over the two exit polls which predicted the BJP's win in Tripura elections, and said the Left Front is confident of returning to power.

Agartala, March 1: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M))-led Left Front government is in power in Tripura for the last 25 years. There is no doubt that after remaining in power for more than two decades, the Left Front government in the northeastern state is facing a massive anti-incumbency wave. Moreover, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) extensively campaigned in the state to ouster the ruling party from power. To add to all these, there is a lot of grouse among the people of Tripura regarding lack of development and jobs in the state.

The exit poll results too are not very encouraging for the left regime. Out of the three main exit polls, the results of which were declared on Tuesday, two clearly stated that the BJP-Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) alliance will come to power in Tripura. Will the Manik Sarkar government be able to overcome all these odds to emerge triumphant, once again?

The left parties think otherwise. They are confident of coming to power in the northeastern state, once again. Veteran communist leader Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy on Wednesday expressed doubts over the two exit polls which predicted the BJP's win in Tripura elections and said the Left Front is confident of returning to power.

Noting that some exit polls after the last Assembly elections in Bihar and Delhi had gone awry, the CPI general secretary said he has his own doubts about the latest ones on Tripura's poll. He pointed out that one exit poll has given the BJP-IPFT alliance a vote share of 51 per cent, while another has given the Left Front 45-46 per cent, terming the difference in percentage "little". Reddy said the C-voter exit poll has given the "advantage" to the Left Front.

The C-voter 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 to get 24 to 32 seats with a vote share of 42.8 per cent, while the Congress may win only around two seats with a vote share of 7.2 per cent.

"I don't think the BJP can win in Tripura. We are very confident the Left will win," Reddy said. "Yes, it's possible some sort of an anti-incumbency in some sections may be there but most of the people are happy and satisfied with the government," he added.

On February 18, voting was held in 59 of the total 60 seats in Tripura Assembly. Polling could not be held in Charilam constituency because of the death of CPI(M) candidate Ramendra Narayan Debbarma in February. The constituency will go to polls on March 12.

The BJP is making a determined bid to demolish the red bastion of 25 years, with stalwarts like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah leading the charge. The BJP, which had forged a pre-poll alliance with the IPFT, had fielded 51 candidates.

The Tripura Assembly election results, to be declared on March 3 (Saturday), will finally lead to rest all the claims and counterclaims. The Assembly election results in Meghalaya and Nagaland, where voting took place on February 27 (Tuesday), will be also declared on Saturday. Like in Tripura, the BJP is hoping to come to power in Nagaland and Meghalaya also.

OneIndia News