Agartala, January 15:Amid mounting strain within Tripura’s ruling NDA alliance, a delegation of TIPRA Motha MLAs and Members of District Council (MDCs) of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) met Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha on Wednesday, raising politically sensitive demands that have been at the centre of a growing rift between alliance partners.
The delegation flagged two core issues before the Chief Minister — the long-pending demand for adoption of the Roman script for Kokborok and the conduct of TTAADC elections within the stipulated timeframe.
The meeting was confirmed on Thursday by Rajeshwar Debbarma, former MLA and spokesperson of TIPRA Motha, which currently controls the TTAADC and remains a junior partner in the BJP-led NDA government in the state.
Addressing a press conference in Agartala, Debbarma said that the party had initially been denied permission to meet the Chief Minister, but yesterday the interaction eventually took place under the leadership of Rabindra Debbarma, Executive Member (Education) of the TTAADC.
He described the meeting as “cordial” but underscored that the issues raised were non-negotiable concerns for the party.
“We placed our demands and concerns before the Chief Minister. The discussion was cordial. Since Dr Manik Saha is the head of the state and responsible for the overall welfare of Tripura, we are hopeful and positive,” Debbarma said, while carefully avoiding any claim of assurance from the Chief Minister.
On the question of whether the Chief Minister made any concrete commitment, the TIPRA Motha spokesperson maintained strategic restraint, stating that the party would wait for the government’s response instead of making premature political comments.
Debbarma, however, justified the party’s insistence on timely TTAADC elections, pointing to past delays in grassroots democratic processes.
“Generally, elections are conducted on time. But even after the completion of a five-year tenure, Village Committee elections under the TTAADC were not held under the State Election Commission. Placing this demand before the Chief Minister is not unusual. As a crucial political stakeholder, it is our responsibility,” he said, adding that the council elections are vital for public interest and development in tribal areas.
Meanwhile, Rabindra Debbarma, Executive Member in charge of Education in the TTAADC, said the Chief Minister informed the delegation that the letter submitted by them on the demand for adoption of the Roman script for Kokborok had been forwarded, without any modification, to both the CBSE and ICSE. However, no response has been received from either board so far, and the delegation was advised to take up the matter directly with representatives of the two boards in New Delhi.
Debbarma further said the Chief Minister also conveyed that he would meet the chairman or secretary of the Tripura Board of Secondary Education on the Roman script issue. However, he alleged that the Chief Minister was politicising the matter rather than addressing it substantively.
The developments come against the backdrop of escalating friction between BJP and TIPRA Motha, marked by repeated clashes between supporters, attacks on party offices, and sharp public exchanges — particularly over the Roman script for Kokborok, a demand pending for over five decades and firmly rejected by Chief Minister Manik Saha.
While TIPRA Motha currently holds power in the council, the BJP has openly signalled its ambition to wrest control of the tribal body, making the alliance increasingly transactional and unstable.
With identity politics, linguistic rights, and control over the TTAADC converging, the meeting with the Chief Minister has laid bare the deepening fault lines within Tripura’s ruling NDA — raising questions over how long the uneasy partnership between BJP and TIPRA Motha can hold.
