Hokutwisa (Dhalai district, Tripura), April 9:
Escalating his attack on the ruling establishment, TIPRA Motha supremo Pradyot Kishore Debbarma on Thursday termed Chief Minister Manik Saha “frustrated” and accused a section of the local BJP leadership of attempting to engineer a split in his party for political mileage.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a campaign rally at Hokutwisa ground in Longtharai Valley, Debbarma dismissed the Chief Minister’s recent remarks, suggesting they stem from political desperation.
He said he would refrain from reacting directly out of respect for Saha’s age, but made it clear that such statements reflect “frustration” rather than facts.
Launching a broader political charge, the TIPRA Motha chief alleged that certain leaders within the state BJP are trying to weaken his party to demonstrate that they can run the government without relying on alliance partners.
“There is an attempt by some local BJP leaders to break TIPRA Motha just to show that they can do politics without any alliance,” he claimed.
However, Debbarma was careful to draw a distinction between the state and central leadership of the BJP. He asserted that the alleged move does not have the backing of the party’s national leadership.
“I do not believe that the BJP leadership in Delhi is involved in this. This appears to be a local-level political game plan,” he said.
Reinforcing his party’s grassroots connect, Debbarma maintained that TIPRA Motha’s growing public support cannot be undermined through political maneuvering.
He also took a swipe at the BJP’s campaign narrative, indicating that voters in Tripura are capable of distinguishing between sustained ground work and last-minute electoral outreach.
The remarks underline intensifying political friction in the run-up to the TTAADC elections, with sharp exchanges between the NDA ally TIPRA Motha and the BJP leadership over influence, strategy, and credibility in the tribal-dominated regions of the state.
