No one talks about political instability in Tripura, where the Left Front has ruled since 1977 with just one exception of a disastrous Congress-led government during 1988-93. The deep divide in this state that shares porous boundaries with Bangladesh on three sides is that of the drowning of the local population by the immigrant Bengalis. In the 20th century, the share of the indigenous Borok tribes in the state’s population came down from close to 90 per cent to just about 30 per cent, leading to dispossession, disempowerment and resentment among the tribal population.

The Left Front, mainly the CPM, enjoys an unwavering support not only among majority Bengalis but also among a significant section of the tribal population, a legacy of Nripen Chakraborty and Dasharath Deb. The Congress has again tied up with INPT, a tribal political outfit including some ex-insurgents and can enthuse the tribal voters but could frighten the Bengalis, and is hoping to cause a major upset this time with the help of a very strict Election Commission. But dislodging an entrenched CPM that has combined the image of a visibly clean leadership, organisational strength and electoral machine with a subtle ethnic appeal for the majority community, is not going to be easy.

What is common to these three faces of politics in the Northeast, except a coincidence of geography and timing of electoral cycle? Or the curse of shared neglect from the ‘motherland’? Perhaps it is best not to expect any commonality. We begin to understand the Northeast when we begin to look at it as just another part of India. When we begin to recognise ‘us’ inside the ‘other’ we also begin to notice the presence of the ‘other‘ within ‘us’.

... contd.