Agartala, March 7: The absence of the entire Opposition and the unexpected presence of expelled CPM stalwart Nripen Chakraborty were the talking points at the swearing-in ceremony of the fifth Left Front government in Tripura.

As the Governor, Lt. Gen. (retd) Krishna Mohan Seth, administered the oath of office to chief minister Manik Sarkar and his 18-member ministry, the cynosure of all eyes was Chakraborty.

CPM politburo members Prakash Karat, Sitaram Yechuri and Biman Bose had rushed to greet the stalwart when he arrived at Raj Bhavan, leaning on the shoulder of a guard. All the acrimony of the past melted in the warmth of the moment — nobody seemed to remember that these very leaders had expelled Chakraborty from the party nearly eight years ago.

After the formalities were over, the Governor went to the veteran politician and said, “The present chief minister seems to have outdone you by enabling the Left Front to score a hattrick of electoral victories.”

Chakraborty smiled and nodded in approval.

Mediapersons watching the proceedings could not help but make comparisons between the scene today and one at the state party headquarters eight years ago. Within two days of his expulsion from the party on April 13, 1995, Chakraborty had visited the Melarmath CPM office for the last time.

Minutes before his arrival, senior party leaders — including Baidyanath Mazumder, the incumbent secretary, and Gautam Das, editor of the party mouthpiece Daily Desher Katha — hid in a room to avoid coming face to face with the veteran.

While the Left today again resembled a large, happy family, the Congress and the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura chose to boycott the swearing-in ceremony in protest against the wave of violence after the elections.

The chief minister made no effort to restrain himself while criticising the boycott. Shortly after being sworn in for a second term in office, he said the Opposition should not have stayed away from such an important function. “It is an undemocratic move. They may harbour a grudge against us but it is their duty to participate in the democratic process.”

Having made his point, Sarkar changed the topic to the priorities of the Left Front. He said the new government would try to “complete the unfinished task of the previous ministry, which is to raise the standard of living of the people by developing the agriculture sector”.

The chief minister said over 60 per cent of the people of Tripura still lived below the poverty line and ensuring a decent lifestyle for them was the Left Front’s top priority.

He also promised to open new avenues for self-employment. “Thousands of unemployed youth in our state have already crossed the age-limit for employment. We plan to help them with loans and other facilities.”

Reiterating that peace was a prerequisite for development, Sarkar appealed to militant outfits to shun the path of violence and start negotiations with the state government or the Centre.