Following the legislative assembly election for northeast Indian state Tripura on February 18, many are waiting to see whether the next government will be formed by the Left Front or Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The wait will end on March 3, and the result is likely to impact neighbouring Bangladesh.
Politics in Tripura impacted Bangladesh to a considerable extent since even before the latter’s formation in 1971. Both India and Bangladesh has largely reaped the benefits of a friendly relationship.
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Insurgent outfits from Northeast India often based their hideouts in Bangladesh. Their presence was a sore point for Tripura and other Northeast Indian states.
The Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government imposed a massive crackdown on these hideouts at the request of former Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. This clearly demonstrates a strong camaraderie between India’s Union government and the government of Bangladesh.
However, it should be noted that for resolving matters pertaining to Bangladesh’s interest, there should be a symbiotic understanding between India’s Central and State governments. The Teesta agreement provides the best example of the strained relations between the West Bengal Government and India’s Central Government, with the former having long stood in the way of a deal.
Tripura is steeped in a huge amount of unskilled labour, surplus power, gas, rubber and natural resources. Yet there is a dearth of micro and small-scale industries to harness these resources. Therefore, this provides a good opportunity to Bangladesh to invest in Tripura.
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Tripura imports 90% of its cement from Bangladesh. As such, Bangladesh can set up a medium-scale cement industry in Tripura. A garments factory may also be considered.
As Northeast India is connected with the Indian mainland via broad-gauge, Bangladeshi products can make inroads into Meghalaya, Assam, Mizoram and other Northeastern states.
The tourism industry would do very well between Tripura and Bangladesh, owing to cultural, lingual and lineal connections.
The local industrialists lack the capital to establish large-scale and medium-scale industries in the state.
While the current Indian and Bangladeshi government share a good rapport, a change of guard in Tripura also augurs well for the future of the Indo-Bangla friendship.
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Though the government of India is never beholden to a state in terms of an international treaty as per Article 253 of the Indian Constitution, centre-state relations in India count for Bangladesh. Owing to then West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu’s personal rapport with Bangladesh PM Shiekh Hasina as well as the Left Front’s participation in PM HD Deve Gowda’s United Front Government, the Ganga treaty was materialized.
On the other hand, if there is a change of guard in Tripura, the new ruling dispensation’s foremost duty would be to obviate unemployment. That would be rendered impossible owing to the lack of industry, paving the way for Bangladesh to perhaps set them up.
By and large, the Tripura Legislative Assembly election considerably matters for Bangladesh for the sake of mutual security and trade interests.
