Record viewership of Tripurainfo.com on counting day

Agartala, Mar 02, 2013 : tripurainfo.com, state’s highest-accessed news portal has set a record of sorts in terms of viewership. More than one lakh viewers visited the website on February 28 when the results of the just-concluded assembly election were announced. Tripurainfo.com had announced the results of an exit poll survey on February 25 predicting a massive victory for the left front with the range of seats varying between 42-52. According to the final results left front secured 50 seats and Congress got ten seats while INPT drew a complete blank. The viewers verified the final outcome in comparison with the prediction made and expressed their satisfaction. 

As per the statistics recorded in the “Google Analytics”, a total of 1, 12,314 visitors viewed tripurainfo.com pages for latest updates of election results and its related news.

From February 13 to February 23, a total of 14,452 visitors expressed their opinion on the ‘online’ survey or opinion polls of tripurainfo.com, where visitors had the option to choose their political parties to run the next government in Tripura and some question with options like- who will be the next chief minister of Tripura, what was the worst performance of 6th Left Front government.

Later, on February 24 last, tripurainfo.com published their ‘opinion polls’ and predicted that Left Front allies can get minimum of 42 seats and maximum of 52 seats, whereas opposition Congress allies can secure minimum of 8 seats and maximum of 18 assembly constituencies. The opinion poll also predicted that at least 10 seats have fifty-fifty chances for both the rival formations.

During the period of February 14-23, the survey was conducted in all 60 assembly constituencies of the state. The survey was held in 300 polling stations and a total of 15,558 respondents statements were recorded through online and offline.

After counting day, 89,938 visitors more also viewed for post poll results and its analytical news.

Significantly, tripurainfo.com also recorded above 2, 26,425 page-views during the period of January 30 to March 1 last.

Victory for peace, solidarity, dev, says Tripura Left Front

Agartala, Feb 28, 2013 : The Tripura Left Front committee on Thursday evening congratulated the state for voting in favour of CPI (M) led Left Front and said that the new government would be dedicated in fulfilling each poll promise made in the party’s election manifesto. Speaking to reporters at a press conference this evening at CPI (M) state headquarter in Melarmath, convener of Tripura Left Front committee – Khagen Das said that people from all sections of the society – students, farmers, labourers, employees etc have negated the euphoric call of change from opposition camp and has voted for peace, solidarity and development. The ruling alliance secured 50 out of 60 assembly constituency seats in 2013 state legislative assembly election. Congress led opposition alliance got 10 seats – one less than the 2008 assembly poll results.

Terming peace, solidarity among the state’s population and development as key causes behind the landslide victory of the Left Front, Das said, people of Tripura have voted for peace this season. He also asked party supporters across the state to remain peaceful despite the massive victory without any sign of violence or political retribution.

Big bang return of left front in Tripura

Agartala, Feb 28, 2013 : As anticipated Tripura's left front made a big bang return to power for the fifth consecutive time today since 1993, increasing its tally of seats from 49 to 50 and percentage of votes marginally, inflicting a massive drubbing on opposition Congress-INPT combine . While Congress was able to hold on to its tally of ten seats in the sixty member state assembly the INPT failed to open account as even the fading regional party’s president and erstwhile TNV militant leader Bijay Kumar Hrangkhawal suffered an ignominious defeat against the left front’s candidate Lalit Debbarma-a political greenhorn-from Ambassa (ST) seat in Dhalai district by a margin of 1037 votes. The biggest setback for Congress was the narrow defeat of its vice president and veteran leader Surajit Dutta from the Ramnagar assembly constituency in Agartala . Dutta who had won the seat five successive times since 1988 lost the seat by the narrow margin of 65 votes despite the total absence of Trinamool from the electoral arena and consequent non-division of anti-left votes. 

Early indications of the results were available as the counting commenced in 17 locations across the state from 8-00 in the morning. After the first round of counting leader of the opposition of Congress in Mohanpur assembly constituency in West Tripura district first trailed and then appeared to have lost the seat by more than three hundred votes. But on two successive recounting upon Nath’s demand he won the seat by 714 votes. Despite the statewide reverses Congress had a consolation of winning three of the four seats in Agartala town but the party’s domination of the state capital was dented as Surajit Dutta lost narrowly. However, the PCC president Sudip Roy Barman defeated his nearest CPI (M) rival Shankar Prasad Dutta rather comfortably by a margin of 2741 votes. 

Altogether five of the ten seats captured by Congress came from West Tripura while after a gap of long fifteen years the party opened its account in south Tripura district (renamed upon truncation as Gomati district) when Pranjit Singha won the R.K.Pur seat by a margin of 837 votes defeating the RSP leader and minister for science and technology Jaygobinda Debroy. The differences of opinion in Congress over the justification of alliance with regional INPT seemed justified as the INPT drew a blank while Congress’s indigenous leader Dibachandra Hrangkhawal defeated veteran CPI (M) leader and ADC’s executive member Gajendra Tripura by a margin of 1372 seats. This is the only seat won by Congress among six seats of Dhalai district. In neighbouring Unakoti district also Congress could win only one of altogether four seats when veteran leader Birajit Sinha narrowly retained the Kailasahar seat by a margin of only 485 votes. Similarly, in north Tripura district also the left front made a near clean sweep of seven seats , retaining six and losing only the Dharmangar town seat when the sitting MLA Biswabandhu Sen defeated his CPI (M) rival Amitava Dutta by a margin of 1844 votes.

Interestingly, in three of the state’s eight districts-south Tripura, Sipahijala and Khowai-Congress failed to win a single seat. The chief minister Manik Sarkar who had entered the fray from his pocket-borough , Dhanpur constituency won against Congress’s Shah Alam by a margin of 6017 votes, more than doubling up the margin of 2918 votes obtained in 2008. While only Jaygobinda Debroy of RSP lost the R.K.Pur seat , the remaining ten ministers in the left front cabinet retained their seats comfortably though the veteran minister for higher education and information Anil Sarkar won by the considerably reduced margin of 2132 votes. ‘My margin of victory was more than seven thousand in 2008, this has come come down mainly because of the delimitation as part of which fifteen thousand voters from my Pratapgarh assembly constituency were shifted to the newly created Sujyamoni Nagar constituency and seventy percent of them are my supporters, naturally my margin has gone down’ said Anil Sarkar. He attributed the good showing of the left front to the committed support of voters belonging to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. ‘We won 19 of the 20 ST seats and 9 of the ten seats reserved for scheduled castes ;voters belonging to both the communities are our core strengths’ said Sarkar.

The CPI (M) party secretary Bijan Dhar and party spokesman Gautam Das congratulated the people for the ‘massive mandate’ they have given the left front and charged that Congress’s efforts at misleading the people have boomeranged on the party. However, the PCC president Sudip Roy Barman expressed his ‘shock and dismay’ over the poll outcome.

Left Front retains Tripura-for fifth straight term

Agartala, Feb 28, 2013 : Tripura's ruling Left Front Thursday stormed back to power in Tripura for the fifth straight term, delivering a humiliating blow to the Congress.

The Left Front led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) also increased its vote share compared to 2008, election officials said.

The Congress and its allies, the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) and the Nationalist Conference of Tripura were crushed, for the fifth consecutive time since 1993.

The CPI-M on its own won 32 seats of the total 44 results declared so far in the 60-member assembly and was leading in nine more seats.

Its allies, the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and the Communist Party of India (CPI), won one seat each. The CPI lost a seat.

The Congress managed got 10 seats and was leading in one more. The INPT was leading in one constituency.

Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, 64, who has ruled Tripura since 1998, won from Dhanpur by a margin of around 5,000 votes. It was Sarkar's sixth win.

Finance Minister Badal Chowdhury posted the highest winning margin of 12,450 votes.

Commerce Minister Jitendra Chowdhury, School Education Minister Tapan Chakraborty, Information Minister Anil Sarkar, Tribal Welfare Minister Aghore Debbarma and all cabinet colleagues retained their seats by huge margins.

Teacher-turned-politician Anil Sarkar, 75, who is also a poet and writer, was re-elected on CPI-M ticket from Pratapgarh in western Tripura for a record ninth time.

Congress leader Ratan Lal Nath was also re-elected from Mohanpur while state Congress president Sudip Roy Barman retained his Agartala seat -- for the fourth time.

Former Tripura assembly speaker Jitendra Sarkar, who this time contested on Congress ticket, wrested Barjala seat from the CPI-M. Sarkar won by 254 votes defeating Jitendra Das.

In a significant development, CPI-M's Ratan Das wrested Ramnagar after a gap of 25 years. He defeated former state Congress chief and ex-minister Surajit Datta by just 15 votes.

"This is a great victory for the Left Front and shows its popularity and public support. Good governance is one of the key factors for the thumping victory," gloated CPI-M spokesperson Gautam Das.

"People voted for the Left to establish peace and development in all sectors," Das told IANS.

Former chief minister and Congress leader Samir Ranjan Barma and INPT president and former militant leader Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhawl were trailing.

Tripura made electoral history when a record 93.57 percent of the 2.3 million voters exercised their franchise Feb 14 to pick a 60-seat assembly. There were 249 candidates.

The Left Front has ruled Tripura since 1978 barring one term (1988-93).

In 2008, the Left registered a thumping victory. The CPI-M alone won 46 seats and partners CPI and RSP secured one and two seats respectively. The Congress bagged 10 seats and the INPT one.