New Delhi: Fighting its maiden assembly election in Tripura, the Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA Motha), led by scion of the erstwhile royal family Pradyot Debbarma, looks set to become a key player in the state assembly. However, is unlikely to be kingmaker given how decisive the BJP-Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (ITFP) victory looks at the moment.
Fighting in 42 of the 60 seats, Motha has won eight seats so far and is leading in four, but interestingly, it has lost out to the BJP in several of the seats reserved for the tribal community.
Debbarma’s rise to political prominence began after the then newly-formed Motha won the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) elections in 2021. The party has since professed to be the voice of the tribal people, demanding a constitutional guarantee for the protection of the rights of tribals.
In Bagma, for example, the Motha candidate is trailing the BJP candidate, as is the case in Charilam, another reserved constituency where the BJP candidate is Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Debbarma, and Chawmanu which too is an ST reserved constituency. The tribals make up about 10 lakh of the the state’s total of more than 28 lakh voters.
The fact that Motha fielded candidates beyond its strongholds — the 20 constituencies reserved for Scheduled Tribes — also dealt a body blow to the Congress-Left combine and its efforts to bring an end to BJP rule in the state.
The party emerged as a spoiler in several seats outside the ADC (Autonomous District Council) areas. In Bishalgarh for example, the current lead of the BJP candidate is of 1,468 votes and the Motha candidate has polled 1,532 votes. In Amarpur, the BJP leads by a little over 5,000 votes while the Motha candidate has polled 7,857 votes. In Bamutia, the BJP lead is of 1,854 votes currently, while Motha has polled 3,309 votes.
The Congress-Left alliance had reached out repeatedly to the Motha for a pre-poll understanding, as had the BJP. Motha had spurned both, insisting on a written assurance for ‘Greater Tipraland’ — a separate state for the indigenous people of Tripura.
The results show that the party has emerged as the lone credible voice of the states’ tribals — Tiprasa — dislodging BJP ally IPFT, which is currently leading in one of the six seats. But it is facing unexpected competition from the BJP in that role.
Debbarma himself had not fought the elections and had announced on the last day of campaigning in Charilam that he was addressing his “last political rally”.
Later, in a Twitter clarification, he had said: “I have fought this election alone with my people — women, youth, elderly. I’m sure we will win. My sanyas (retirement) does not mean I will disappear from the hearts of the public. I will be there till I finalise a constitutional solution to our demand. Definitely no political bhashan (speech) or seeking any political posts.”
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The challenge
In the run-up to elections, Debbarma had repeatedly said that he would not go with any political party unless he gets a written assurance that his demand for a separate homeland for tribals is met. He had told ThePrint that he would rather sit in the opposition than dilute that core demand.
However, post elections, with the BJP in for a comfortable majority, the going for Debbarma may get tougher. The immediate challenge is to keep his flock together given that many of his candidates would want to be in the party in power rather than sit in opposition.
Sources close to him say that the declaration of the Charilam rally being his last political rally was in a sense a safeguard against any possible defection attempts after the elections. A source privy to the developments told ThePrint, “What he (Debbarma) did in Charilam effectively means that he has put possible defectors on notice. They are answerable to the people and should they take such a step, they would have to bear the consequences.”
(Edited by Anumeha Saxena)
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