BJP to contest all 28 TTAADC seats, compete with TIPRA Motha, IPFT: Manik Saha
Speaking during a party joining programme at Rabindra Bhawan, Tripura CM Manik Saha said that although the parties remain partners in the state government, they would face each other in the tribal council elections.
- Mar 15, 2026,
- Updated Mar 15, 2026, 5:20 PM IST
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on March 15 said the Bharatiya Janata Party is preparing to contest all 28 seats in the upcoming elections to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), signalling a direct electoral contest with its allies, the Tipra Motha Party and the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura.
Speaking during a party joining programme at Rabindra Bhawan, Saha said that although the parties remain partners in the state government, they would face each other in the tribal council elections.
“TMP and IPFT are our allied partners in government, but in the case of the TTAADC election we are competitors,” Saha said. “We are free to fight or nominate candidates in all 28 constituencies.”
The chief minister’s remarks come ahead of the crucial council polls, which are expected to test political influence in the tribal-dominated areas of the state.
The joining event also saw a large number of people from Janajati communities entering the BJP. Party leaders said more than 3,000 voters joined the party in the presence of Saha, state BJP president Rajib Bhattacharjee, Tribal Welfare Minister Bikash Debbarma and party general secretary Bipin Debbarma.
A large gathering of party supporters attended the programme at Rabindra Bhawan.
A day earlier, while addressing another joining event organised by the BJP’s Karamchara Mandal in Dhumachhara in Dhalai district, Saha reiterated that the party aims to contest every seat in the council polls.
“The Bharatiya Janata Party does not deny alliance partners,” he said, adding that the party’s objective remains clear. “But our target is 28.”
He also asserted that the BJP would not allow any political force to dominate it in the region, saying decisions on seat sharing would be taken by the party itself.
Welcoming new members at the programme, Saha told them they had taken “the right decision at the right time”. “No one can take the country and the state forward without the Bharatiya Janata Party,” he said, adding that the new entrants would strengthen the organisation in the area.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the chief minister said the new members would become partners in building “New India and our new Tripura”.