Ground zero Alipurduar: Duel of Tirkeys hinges on brews, booze & scam scars

It’s Tirkey vs Tirkey at Alipurduar, and practically, RSP vs RSP. Manohar Tirkey is the sitting Member of Parliament from the RSP, which has held this seat since the Left Front came to power in West Bengal in 1977. The Trinamul Congress, which has unseated the Left, has fielded a Dasarath Tirkey, who may not be as well known as Manohar but was an RSP man even a few months back, for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.


Advantage Mamata in that sense, because as an ex-RSP man, Dasarath is expected to be in the know of whatever is happening within the RSP camp. Besides , if Manohar has it easy with the tribal vote bank in the constituency, so will Dasarath. “A master stroke by Mamata in fielding Dasrath against Manohar,” said a local newspaper vendor. Still, Manohar is the clear favourite. In 2009, he had got 41% of the votes against 29% of the Trinamool’s Pawan Lakra.

The BJP’s Manoj Tigga had polled 21% of the votes. However, things have changed much since 2009 and, in these five years, the Trinamool has made inroads into the area despite the RSP’s domination. The deciding component in 2014 will be the six-lakh-plus tribal votes, of which nearly 3.25 lakh voters belong to the 130-odd tea gardens. All these votes used to go to the RSP once upon a time, but no more. This bloc vote has now got divided into three parts: the RSP, Trinamool and the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), which has gone for an alliance with the BJP.

That apart, there is a 1.5-lakh vote base, comprising Nepali and Bhutia communities living in Nagrakata , Madarihat and Kalchini. This used to be a solid vote base for the GJM, but is again splintered now. Total voter strength is 14,64,809. Overall, Manohar seems to be a clear winner because neither Dasarath nor BJP’s Birendra Bora Oraon is too well known in these parts. The Congress, on the other hand, has fielded Joseph Munda, who is the MLA from Nagrakata and is, therefore, a well-known local politician, but on balance the chances of all, except Manohar, are estimated to be slim.

The interesting thing about the Alipurduar voting is that booze plays a vital part in the process. Large-scale alcohol distribution in tribal areas during election campaign helps political parties win over voters and despite all the efforts of tribal leaders to stop the practice, it doesn’t.

It is therefore expected to be a straight fight between the RSP and the Trinamul. The Left still does have a very high number of committed voters, especially in the tea gardens, and the RSP has done appreciable work under the Integrated Child Development Scheme at Alipurduar , Kalchini, Madarihat and other areas . What’s most important is that traditional rivals RSP and CPM are united this time — the bonding having taken place ever since the Trinamool started making inroads.

For the Trinamool, the two biggest factors playing against the party this time are (a) chit fund debacle that has affected many all over North Bengal, including Alipurduar, and (b) the fact that the party hasn’t been able to do anything at all to open closed tea gardens. Manohar is upbeat. “Here the party matters. So it does not matter who fights me. All I can say is that the RSP will win,” he told ET.