The first alliance of the Left and the Congress in Tripura and the emergence of Tipra Motha as a major force in tribal seats did not prove enough to dislodge the BJP from power in the state as the ruling party’s development issues and ideological resonance overpowered local factors. Gave. Give it another win.
The Tipra Motha Party, formed by Pradyot Kishore Debbarma, a former scion of the state’s princely family, managed to win 13 seats, which was commendable.
Earlier, during the counting of votes for the Tripura assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had told news agency PTI that they are ready to accept all the demands of the Tipra Motha party, except for Greater Tipraland.
Though Tipra Motha is a new organisation, its primary election issue is a ‘promise’.Greater Tipraland‘ to the state’s indigenous population – has resonated among voters and is expected to help eat into rivals’ vote shares.
In 2018, the IPFT and the BJP won on the same promise, but the tribal party failed to deliver, opening the door for Deb Barma.
With the IPFT failing to deliver on its promise of ‘Tipraland’, a populist demand raised ahead of the 2018 elections, Debbarma cashed in on his royal heritage to systematically infiltrate tribal areas.
Gradually, he managed to portray himself as the taste of the indigenous people, who began calling him ‘Bubagra (King)’, and reduced the IPFT to an expendable force in tribal-dominated areas.
Debbarma’s plan worked a charm as his newly formed party nipped the IPFT in the April 2022 Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) elections just three months after its formation.
The CPI(M), which once had a stronghold in the hills, has also handed over control to Tipra Motha.
In TTAADC elections, Tipra Motha wins 18 seats while BJP could only manage 10. TTAADC covers about two-thirds of the state and 90 per cent of its population is tribal. TIPRA won 18 seats, BJP 10 and IPFT zero.
Exit polls were cautious in giving the BJP-IPFT an outright victory in Tripura – the exception being India Today-Axis My India, which gave them 36-45 seats. At least two others projected him to win the most seats but still short of a majority.
Perhaps that is why the BJP has made efforts to reach out to Tipra Motha after the polls, which was predicted to win at least nine seats. Adding them to the BJP and IPFT which is expected to win will give the saffron party the necessary strength.
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