In a significant political development in election-bound Tripura, the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), an ally of the ruling BJP, has decided to snap ties with the saffron party and join hands with Opposition party Tipra Motha, headed by Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barma, head of the erstwhile Royal house of Tripura.
On January 13, Pradyot Deb Barma met IPFT leader Aghore Debbarma in Guwahati and discussed the structure of the future alliance between both parties, in presence of other representatives from both parties. Both parties are likely to merge and emerge with a new name and symbol.
The IPFT leader revealed this in an exclusive conversation with India Today NE. “We have decided to merge with Tipra Motha in the best interests of Tiprasa’s survival and for Tripuri people. When we return from Guwahati, we will consult with our party colleagues and executive members. Our demand is the same, which is the establishment of statehood based on the sixth schedule under Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution. This is our goal, this is our vision. And we are coming together with the same vision and will officially declare it after consulting with party members,” said Aghore Debbarma.
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Tripura is set to go for assembly elections in February-March. While the ruling BJP will seek to retain power for the second consecutive term, it will face challenges from CPI (M), Congress, TMC and the rising tribal party Tipra Motha. In 2018, along with IPFT, the BJP uprooted a two-decade-long CPI (M) government in the state. This time, IPFT has decided to join the rival camp while Mamata Banerjee-led TMC has been trying to find a foothold in the state, catering primarily to the Bangla sentiment. Tipra Motha and IPFT represent the other spectrum of the population—the indigenous tribals—and their prime demand has been a separate stat for the tribal people.
“We are likely to consider Pradyot Deb Barma’s proposal for a new party name—TIPRA Motha IPFT—and we have decided to use the IPFT symbol Dao (machete) which is already recognized by the election commission,” says Aghore Debbarma. Earlier, the Tipra Motha chief had sent out a letter to IPFT urging the party to join hands with his party. He said that IPFT’s demand for elevation of the autonomous district council—Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC)—areas to “Tipraland” is not fundamentally different from what Tipra Motha stands for.
“There isn’t much of a fundamental difference between our demand for Tipraland and your Greater Tipraland. Our demand is not unique, but it is the same: a permanent constitutional solution for the state's indigenous people. And we cannot consider any other issues while sacrificing the Tiprasas' existence. Let the Tiprasas first survive and exist under the protection of the Tipraland or Greater Tipraland,” read the letter by Pradyot Deb Barma.