GUWAHATI: In election-bound Tripura, the tribe-based party TIPRA Motha is fast emerging as a force to give the ruling BJP a run for its money. The saffron party has whiled away opportunities and turned out nearly a failure. Given anti-incumbency, it has a mountain to climb to be able to retain power when the state goes to polls early next year.
While the BJP was wasting chances and the Congress imploding across the country, former Tripura Congress chief Pradyot Debbarma-headed TIPRA Motha seized the moment. The royal scion mobilised the indigenous population and capitalised on his and his family’s popularity.
Tripura has 60 seats – 20 of them in the tribal areas. These had been traditionally the CPI-M’s strongholds. Now, the Left party has virtually lost the space to the TIPRA Motha. The CPI-M has appointed Jitendra Chowdhury, a tribal, as the state secretary to try and regain the lost ground. Former Chief Minister the late Dasarath Deb is the only other tribal leader to have donned the party state secretary’s mantle.
In last year’s Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council elections, the TIPRA Motha had won 18 seats. The BJP bagged 9 seats while one went to an Independent. The result is testimony to the tribe-based party climbing up the popularity charts in the tribal areas.
Debbarma said the TIPRA Motha’s non-conventional brand of politics made people embrace the party.
“We have not played traditional politics but people are fed up of lies. We are not here to fight for the post of the Chief Minister but the constitutional rehabilitation of the indigenous populace,” Debbarma told this newspaper, indicating the tribals need more powers and socio-economic rights.
He said the BJP was facing a challenge for its “disappointing” performance. “BJP talks about development but it has done nothing. CPI-M talks about development but it had the chance. Congress is in a different place now. I guess people want to give us a chance to do something,” Debbarma said.
According to Debbarma, tribals are “critical” in victory in 25 seats and the party has shortlisted 36 seats.
Ahead of the 2018 elections, the BJP hardly had any base in the state, which shares a border with Bangladesh, yet it managed to dislodge the 25-year-old Left Front government riding on the popular slogan of “chalo paltai” (let’s change).
However, its dismal performance across sectors, failure to fulfil pre-election promises and the quirky former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb’s alleged autocratic style of functioning steadily drove the people away from the BJP. The BJP sought to make amends by replacing Deb with doctor-turned-politician Manik Saha in May this year but observers say it was too late.
Now that the polls are round the corner, the BJP is trying to appear confident. “We will retain power by winning the polls with an absolute majority. There is no issue. We will go to polls with our report card, listing out achievements,” Tripura BJP chief spokesperson Subrata Chakraborty told this newspaper.
According to him, the TIPRA Motha will not be a factor. Talking about Deb, he said replacing the chief minister was an organisational matter. “Responsibilities are given to different people at different times. It (Deb’s ouster) was a normal course of action,” Chakraborty claimed.
Party led by royal scion wooing tribal electorate
While the saffron party was wasting chances and the Congress imploding across the country, former Tripura Congress chief Pradyot Debbarma-headed TIPRA Motha seized the moment in Tripura. The royal scion mobilised the indigenous population of the state and capitalised on his and his family’s popularity