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BJP and allies to contest upcoming Tripura village committee elections
The BJP is hopeful that the announcement made by chief minister Manik Shah last week will help strengthen its position among the tribal communities
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The Tripura government’s announcement of implementing the Tripura Accord within a month in a time bound manner has come as a shot in the arm for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is gearing to contest the Village Committee polls under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), party leaders said.
The BJP is hopeful that the announcement made by chief minister Manik Shah last week will help strengthen its position among the tribal communities which are politically significant and can impact electoral outcomes. STs account for about 30% of the electorate and have 20 of the state’s 60 seats in the assembly are reserved for them.
The BJP has also announced that it will contest the upcoming Village Committee polls in alliance with TIPRA Motha, which has been at the forefront of demanding the implementation of the accord. The alliance will also include the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT).
While the BJP is weighing the political benefits of the announcement, TIPRA Motha Party chief Pradyot Kishore Debbarman on Monday welcomed the state government’s announcement and said it was a victory of the indigenous people.
Debbarman who met union home minister Amit Shah along with Tripura CM Manika Saha last week has been pushing for the implementation of the Accord for securing the land and economic rights of the tribal people. He was however emphatic that the announcement should not be linked to electoral politics.
“This is not a victory of my party, it is the victory of the indigenous people of Tripura and the entire North East region. They have struggled for their Constitutional rights that have been denied to them for the past 70 years,” he said.
The Accord, which was signed between the union government, the state government of Tripura, and TIPRA Motha in March 2024, seeks to protect the political rights of the tribal people by securing their land rights and financial rights. Debbarman said unlike the rest of the northeastern states, tribals in Tripura were not given their constitutional land rights and financial autonomy of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.
A senior BJP leader said the differences between the party and its allies that had crept over several issues including the Tripura Accord have been ironed out and the leadership is keen to sustain the alliance in the state which goes to the polls in 2028.
“The BJP’s victory in the state in 2018 and 2023 has paved the way for development in the state. But we need to maintain the momentum…and we need the help of allies particularly in the tribal belt…” said a party leader, speaking on condition of anonymity.
TIPRA Motha has considerable clout in the tribal region and the BJP, which is eyeing a third term in office, is keen to get the support of the tribal voters. It was Debbarman who went to the Supreme Court to seek directions for holding the VCC elections, which are being held after a decade.
“The alliance of the BJP, TIPRA Motha and the IPFT is good for every segment of the state. Take the case of the BRU refugees. They had been living in Tripura for decades in camps without proper arrangements for livelihood and education. It was the BJP government that signed the (quadripartite) agreement (in 2020) to permanently settle over 34,000 BRU refugees in the state,” said the BJP leader quoted above.
In 2020, the home ministry, the governments of Tripura and Mizoram signed an agreement with Bru community leaders. As per the agreement, a package of over ₹600 crore was sanctioned by the union government for their rehabilitation.
