Manik Sarkar Says BJP Government Is Losing Public Support, ‘Wind of Change’ Is Blowing Across India
By Our Correspondent
Agartala, September 20, 2026
Former Tripura Chief Minister and CPI(M) leader Manik Sarkar has alleged that the BJP-led government is steadily losing public support and claimed that a wind of change is blowing across the country. He made the remarks while speaking at a programme in Siliguri on Saturday, where a book on Sixth Schedule framework under Indian Constitution, authored by former West Bengal minister Ashok Bhattacharya was unveiled.
According to the news report, Sarkar criticised the BJP government over what he described as attacks on democratic institutions and the rights of ordinary people. He alleged that despite government spending and various development initiatives, public support for the BJP was declining.
Sarkar further alleged that rising prices, unemployment and shrinking employment opportunities were putting increasing pressure on common people. He also raised concerns over what he described as attacks on the education and health sectors, and referred to controversies surrounding educational institutions.
Sarkar said West Bengal had once played an important role in shaping political and democratic movements in the country, particularly through the Left and democratic movement. He argued that the state is currently facing a difficult political situation and called for efforts to rescue West Bengal from what he described as its present crisis.
He also said that the Left would seek to intensify organisational and political activities in Siliguri and the Darjeeling region in the coming days.
The former Tripura Chief Minister also used the occasion to highlight developments in Tripura after the BJP came to power in 2018. He criticised the BJP government over its record in the state and alleged that several problems had emerged during its tenure.
Sarkar's remarks were particularly significant given his long political association with Tripura, where he served as Chief Minister from 1998 to 2018 before the BJP ended the Left Front's 25-year uninterrupted rule in the state.
The comments came against the backdrop of continuing political competition in Tripura and preparations for the upcoming TTAADC Village Committee elections, where the BJP, Tipra Motha, CPI(M), Congress and other political forces are contesting for influence in the tribal areas.
The programme was organised around the launch of Ashok Bhattacharya’s book on the Indian Constitution, governance and the Sixth Schedule, bringing constitutional and federal issues into the political discussion.
The Sixth Schedule is particularly significant for the northeastern states because it provides a constitutional framework for autonomous administration in specified tribal areas. Issues relating to the powers, financial resources and administrative authority of autonomous district councils have remained important subjects of political debate in Tripura and elsewhere in the Northeast.
Sarkar's speech therefore connected wider questions of democracy and governance with the political situation in West Bengal and the Northeast.
Sarkar's comments amount to a strong political critique of the BJP and should be viewed in the context of the CPI(M)'s continuing opposition to the BJP. His assertion that the BJP is losing public support is a political assessment by the former Chief Minister, rather than an independently established electoral finding.
The remarks also come at a politically significant time, with the TTAADC Village Committee elections in Tripura scheduled for September 28. The contest has brought the BJP, Tipra Motha and opposition parties into an intense organisational and electoral battle across the tribal areas.
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