BJP's alliance with TMP for Assembly elections, not tribal council: Tripura CM

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Friday claimed that the BJP alliance with the Tipra Motha Party TMP was for the Assembly elections, not for the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council TTAADC.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Friday claimed that the BJP alliance with the Tipra Motha Party (TMP) was for the Assembly elections, not for the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC). The TMP, a regional party in the northeastern state, had fought the elections of the autonomous district council in 2021 alone and formed the council by winning 18 seats out of 28 constituencies, and the BJP finished with nine. ''We had formed an alliance with the TMP for the Assembly elections in 2023, not for the electoral battle of the tribal council. The political chemistry in the tribal council is opposite. The party has not yet decided on the alliance for the tribal council elections. We are preparing for contesting in all the 28 seats,'' he told reporters. The chief minister's statement came amidst growing differences between the BJP and its ally TMP over some issues, including the delay in the implementation of the Tiprasa accord. The TMP joined the BJP-led coalition government in the northeastern state just ahead of the last Lok Sabha elections after signing an agreement with the Centre and the state government in March, 2024 for overall development of the indigenous people. The present tenure of the tribal council is set to end on April 18, 2026. Asserting that the development will be the poll plank for the BJP in the coming elections to TTAADC, he said the party has been focusing on development in the entire state, be it non-tribal or tribal areas. ''The indigenous people have started realising that only the national party could fulfil their aspirations. Till now, the regional parties have ruled TTAADC, which has resulted in backwardness. The indigenous people have started reposing faith in the BJP for the development of the hills,'' he said. Earlier, the chief minister joined an organisational meeting convened by BJP state president Rajib Bhattacharjee to discuss issues related to trial council elections at the party headquarters here.

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