The NLFT, on the other hand, has remained consistently violent. Between January 1, 2003, and May 9, 2003,the group has killed 78 persons, including 65 civilians and 13 SF personnel, while it lost only six of itscadres. Trends in the state appear to be taking a turn for the worse. The total number of casualties ininsurgency-related violence in the first five months in 2002 was 68. In 2003 however, till May 8, 2003, thetotal fatalities were 117, including 93 civilians, 14 SF personnel and 10 terrorists. Between 1992 and 2002,various insurgent outfits operating in Tripura have killed 2,176 civilians and 339 SF personnel, with just 293fatalities among insurgent cadres.
The patterns of violence engaged in by these groups are also changing, with operations conflict against whatwas conventionally regarded as the political interests of their 'overground' political partners. Customarily,the ATTF would target supporters and leaders of the Congress party and its allies, while the NLFT directed itsviolence against those of the CPI-M. For instance, the six political activists/leaders killed between January1 and May 9, 2003, by the ATTF belonged to the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT), an ally of theCongress in the February 26 elections for the Tripura Assembly this year. Most of the 36 political activistskilled by the NLFT and its offshoot, the Borok National Council of Tripura (BNCT), during the same periodbelonged to the CPI-M. However, the May 6 killings by the ATTF occurred in an area under the Simna Assemblyconstituency in West Tripura district, which is currently represented by the CPI-M.
The Left Front and the Congress have remained in power since Tripura was declared a State in 1972, and bothhave been using insurgent groups either to dislodge their opponents or to capture or retain power. TheCongress managed to capture power in 1988, allegedly using violence perpetrated by the erstwhile insurgentgroup, the Tripura National Volunteers (TNV) led by Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhawl, who now leads its alliancepartner, the INPT.