Agartala, September 10: The BJP and Tipra Motha Party are recalibrating their electoral strategy for Tripura’s September 28 Village Committee elections, with senior leaders holding fresh talks on Thursday to resolve seat-sharing disputes and consolidate the NDA’s position across the state’s rural constituencies.
The discussions gained importance as candidates from both parties have already filed nominations in several constituencies. Leaders said the duplication would be addressed through withdrawals, with the alliance seeking to leave only one NDA-backed candidate in each such seat.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ratan Lal Nath said the BJP and Tipra Motha had reached agreement on around 80 per cent of the seats, while negotiations were underway to settle the remaining differences.
Nath said the lack of sufficient time before the nomination deadline was one of the reasons candidates from both parties entered the contest in some constituencies. He said the alliance arrangement also could not be communicated to grassroots workers in time.
According to Nath, local-level leaders have now been briefed about the understanding and will coordinate the withdrawal of candidates wherever necessary.
He said the scale of the Village Committee elections required the two parties to hold detailed discussions before finalising the distribution of seats. The results of the 2026 TTAADC elections, he added, were among the factors considered while preparing the seat-sharing formula.
Tipra Motha MLA Ranjit Debbarma said block-level feedback had been received and would be used to resolve the remaining disagreements. He said the final allocation of seats could undergo some changes, but the alliance would ensure that BJP and Tipra Motha candidates did not compete against each other.
BJP state president Abhishek Debroy said the NDA was entering the rural elections with confidence and expected to secure a major victory.
The talks were held mainly between BJP and Tipra Motha, while NDA ally IPFT did not attend. Debroy said the absence of IPFT was not indicative of any dispute, maintaining that the party remained an integral part of the alliance and that its electoral arrangement had already been settled.
Debroy also dismissed allegations by CPI(M) and Congress that their candidates were being intimidated or obstructed. He accused the opposition of attempting to create a “false narrative” ahead of polling.
On the decision by BJP and Tipra Motha to contest the TTAADC elections separately earlier this year, Debroy said the parties had exercised their independent political judgment at that time. He said the leadership had since decided to fight the Village Committee elections jointly.
Nath described the earlier separate contest as an “electoral tactic”, saying the BJP and Tipra Motha had remained allies since 2024 and continued to share power in the Tripura government.
