A day after its ally, the Tripura Mutha Party (TPC), announced that it would contest the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) elections on its own, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday released its list of candidates for all 28 seats and inducted five TPC rebels into the party.
“We have decided to field candidates in all 28 seats. Seven existing members have been renominated, while new candidates have been fielded in Machamara and Manu Chalingta,” state BJP president Rajib Bhattacharjee said at a joint press conference on Tuesday, effectively entering into a direct fight with his partner for tribal votes in the state.
The BJP also welcomed five TPC leaders including the outgoing TTAADC executive member and a district councilor in the presence of Chief Minister Manik Saha and Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy.
Some senior leaders of Tipra Mutha joined today, Bhattacharjee said. “There are many others who will join soon,” he added.
District councilor Sudhagar Kalai, who joined the BJP, accused his former party of corruption. “We raised many demands like Tipraland, Greater Tipraland, but our main goal was to work for the development of indigenous people. We saw that everyone was doing politics. Over five years, I saw that the majority were corrupt. There was endless corruption,” he said.
The TTAADC elections, which cover nearly two-thirds of Tripura’s geographical area, are scheduled to be held on April 12. The counting of votes is scheduled to take place on April 17.
Tipra Mutha Party founder Pradyut Kishore Debbarma on Monday announced that his party will contest independently in the TTAADC elections, ruling out a pre-poll alliance with the BJP.
“My name is Pradyut Kishore Manikya, and I am fighting for my people. I will never compromise on the future of the next generation. Many people have more power and money, but I have the support of the poor people of Tiprasa,” he said in a social media post.
Debbarma’s APC is certainly part of the BJP-led ruling coalition in Tripura and has two members in the cabinet led by Manik Saha.
However, TPC secured a majority in the TTAADC elections in 2021 and hopes to repeat its performance.
