Tripura: Tipra Motha wins 1,548 seats unopposed, BJP 82 ahead of Sep 28 village committee polls

The Tipra Motha Party, an ally of the ruling BJP in Tripura, has won 1,548 of the 4,597 seats unopposed in elections to 587 village committees in the Sixth Schedule areas of the state, an official said on Saturday, September 12.

The BJP secured 82 seats uncontested following the completion of the withdrawal of nomination papers on Friday, Tripura State Election Commission Secretary Anurag Sen said.

“As many as 1,630 seats will not go to the polls as the Tipra Motha has won 1,548 seats uncontested, while the BJP has secured 82 unopposed after expiry of withdrawal of nomination papers,” Sen said.

Polling will now be held for the remaining 2,967 seats on September 28.

A total of 9,820 candidates from the Tipra Motha, BJP, CPI(M), Congress and other parties remain in the fray.

The Tipra Motha has fielded the highest number of candidates at 4,279, followed by the CPI(M) with 2,151 and the BJP with 1,853.

Poll observer Sekhar Datta said the victories have strengthened the Tipra Motha’s position in the tribal areas ahead of the 2028 Tripura Assembly elections.

The results assume significance as the party won the elections to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) in April.

A strong performance in the village committee elections could also strengthen Tipra Motha supremo Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma’s position in seat-sharing discussions with the BJP ahead of the 2028 Assembly polls.

The tribal areas, which account for around two-thirds of Tripura’s geographical area, have historically played an important role in determining political power in the state.

The Left Front, which ruled Tripura for 25 years until 2018, maintained a strong presence in tribal constituencies, while the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) played a key role in the BJP’s victory in the 2018 Assembly elections.

The emergence of the Tipra Motha in 2023, with its demand for a separate ‘Greater Tipraland’, altered the political dynamics in the state and contributed to the Left-Congress alliance falling short of its bid to defeat the BJP.