Tripura polls | Tipra Motha not to ally with anyone: Party chief Debbarma

Tipra Motha chief Pradyot Manikya Debbarma. File
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Ending days of speculation, Tripura’s leading tribal party Tipra Motha chief Pradyot Manikya Debbarma on Friday announced that his party will not be allying with any formation in absence of a written assurance accepting their demand of Greater Tipraland, ahead of the Tripura assembly elections scheduled for next month 

Both the BJP and Left-led alliance were keen on having Tipra Motha on board. The party also negotiated with both sides, including a dialogue with Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in Delhi.

“There will be no compromise on our demand. I can’t betray our cause and our people,” Mr. Debbarma said in a video message posted on his social media platform. He said, the only reason he and his party officials went to Delhi was to hear the government’s stand. “They didn’t give us anything in writing. So let me state this unequivocally there will be no alliance in this election,” Mr. Debbarma added. 

The party, he said, will be announcing the names of Tipra Motha candidates. 

The Greater Tipraland includes the region under Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous district Council (TTADC) and 36 villages out of it within the Tripura state boundaries. Tipra Motha is demanding that this should be carved out as state or a Union Territory. Currently, Mr. Debbarma said, that the TTADC receives two percent of the state budget while it has 40% of the state’s population. This, Mr. Debbarma had declared, was non-negotiable for any alliance. 

He added that many doubted him, though it is only natural since in the last 46-years many regional parties from Tripura had made trips to Delhi returning with some sort of agreement ahead of the elections but after the elections Tripura got nothing. “We shall fight this election to defeat those who are against our demand. Be ready, we may win or lose, but we shall have one last fight,” Mr. Debbarma asserted.  

The Left was amenable to the demand, though their ally the Congress was uncomfortable with it arguing that it will trigger similar demands in several states.