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Tripura: BJP eyes all 28 TTAADC seats as rift with ally TIPRA Motha widens
Chief minister Manik Saha said the BJP wanted to bring development to the council, claiming that little progress had been made so far.
Ahead of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) polls, barely two months away, differences within the ruling alliance have sharpened, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) signalling its intent to contest all 28 seats of the autonomous council.
The term of the TTAADC ends on April 18. Although the state election commission is yet to announce the poll schedule, political mobilisation has already begun across the state.
“We are in an alliance with TIPRA Motha in the assembly. But we are opponents in the TTAADC. We have not yet decided with whom we shall go (forging an alliance) or not for the TTAADC poll. We shall be ready for all 28 seats of the TTAADC,” Tripura chief minister Manik Saha said.
In an oblique reference to the TIPRA Motha party, Saha said the BJP wanted to bring development to the council, claiming that little progress had been made so far.
“Now, a national party is needed here (in the TTAADC). For years, regional parties ruled here. If a national party forms the government in the TTAADC, sustainable development of indigenous people will definitely be ensured,” he said.
As part of its preparations, the BJP recently held an organisational meeting to discuss strategies for the upcoming council elections.
While the BJP and TIPRA Motha share certain common ground, including anti-communism, respect for royal lineage and a focus on indigenous development, sharp differences persist. These include disagreements over the use of the Roman script for the Kokborok language, non-implementation of the Tiprasa Accord, and the BJP’s efforts to expand its base in indigenous-dominated areas ahead of the council polls.
TIPRA Motha had emerged victorious in the 2021 TTAADC elections and went on to contest the 2023 Assembly polls against the BJP, becoming the main opposition party. The two parties later forged an alliance in 2024 ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
“The most important thing is that the election should be held without violence and in an atmosphere of peace. In every election, there should be free and fair discussion on our rights, issues of fund distribution and promises made before the polls. I hope the election is fought on these issues and not on personal attacks or denial of indigenous rights,” said TIPRA Motha founder Pradyot Kishore Debbarma.
Apart from the BJP and TIPRA Motha, another BJP ally, the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), is also expected to contest the polls. However, the party said it would decide its strategy after the election schedule is announced.
The IPFT failed to win any seat in the 2021 TTAADC elections, where TIPRA Motha secured 18 of the 28 seats, the BJP won nine, and one seat went to an independent candidate.
The IPFT has been allied with the BJP since 2018, when the BJP came to power in Tripura by ending the Left Front’s two-decade-long rule.
On the opposition front, the CPM’s indigenous wing, the Tripura Upajati Gana Mukti Parishad (GMP), described the BJP as its “main political enemy” and TIPRA Motha as a “secondary enemy” in the upcoming council polls.
The party alleged that development carried out during its earlier tenure had since been destroyed.
“We shall contest the polls and perform well,” said senior GMP leader Radhacharan Debbarma.
Tension between BJP and TIPRA Motha
Ties between the two alliance partners have witnessed friction in the recent past. In July last year, a clash between BJP and TIPRA Motha supporters during a ‘Mann Ki Baat’ event at Asharambari in Khowai district left several BJP workers injured.
In September, another clash broke out at Hezamara in West Tripura district, leaving several BJP leaders and a television journalist injured, a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to inaugurate the redeveloped Tripurasundari temple.
