Agartala, Oct 6: A day after declaration of the poll results, Tripura Senior Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman on Tuesday questioned the BJP’s attempt to project the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) Village Committee election victory for the NDA, pointing to the wide disparity between the performance of its constituent parties BJP, Tipra Motha and IPFT.
According to the final results, Tipra Motha won 3,428 of the 4,594 seats for which results were declared, accounting for 74.62 per cent. The BJP secured 859 seats or 18.70 per cent, while the IPFT won 33 with just 0.71 per cent. Congress won 14 seats, CPI(M) 87 and independents 173.
Speaking to reporters, Roy Barman said the BJP was “clubbing” the performances of the NDA constituents to create a narrative of a major alliance victory, whereas the party-wise figures presented a different picture.
“If you break up the NDA constituent partners, the Tipra Motha Party has 74.62 per cent, the BJP 18.7 per cent and the IPFT 0.71 per cent,” he said.
Roy Barman argued that the results should therefore be viewed separately for each constituent rather than as a combined NDA tally. He described the BJP’s performance as a matter requiring introspection, while congratulating all winners irrespective of political affiliation.
The Congress MLA also questioned the nature of the BJP-Tipra Motha relationship, pointing out that although the two parties are now alliance partners, they had contested against each other in several places in the Village Committee elections. His remarks came against the backdrop of reports of clashes and tensions during the polling and even counting at some centres.
“This is an opportunistic alliance. Everybody knows that. Though they were in alliance, they fought each other even in this election,” Roy Barman said, alleging that rivalry between the BJP and Tipra Motha had continued at the grassroots level.
He also referred to the death of a Tipra Motha worker during disturbances surrounding the counting process, while alleging that the two parties had fought each other in several constituencies despite being alliance partners. The circumstances surrounding the death and the allegations made by different parties have been contested in political statements, with reports confirming tensions and a death during the counting-day disturbances.
Roy Barman further questioned the political implications of the result for the BJP in the tribal areas, claiming that the party did not enjoy the level of indigenous support suggested by its attempt to project the combined NDA tally.
He also trained his guns on Tipra Motha chief Pradyot Kishore Debbarma over the party’s continuing association with the BJP, asking whether the Tripartite Agreement involving the Centre, Tripura government and Tipra Motha would actually be implemented.
“Almost three years are approaching, but nothing, in spite of the tripartite agreement, has yet taken place,” he said, adding that Tipra Motha would ultimately have to answer to people within the ADC areas.
Roy Barman said he believed the party would have to “think twice” before entering into any future political formulation with the BJP, while asserting that the Congress would seek to expand independently in the tribal areas.
He described Congress as a “newborn baby” in the context of its independent political work in the ADC areas, saying the party had historically depended on indigenous allies such as TUJS, INPT and TNV.
“For the first time we have started working alone,” he said, claiming that Congress had put up close contests in several constituencies and won 14 seats, while some independent candidates backed by the party had also emerged victorious.
Roy Barman also expressed concern over the CPI(M)’s performance, noting that the Left had once dominated Village Committee elections but secured only 1.89 per cent of the final declared seats in the latest polls.
He said Congress would continue building its organisation in the ADC areas and expressed optimism about its future electoral performance, while stopping short of specifying any prospective alliance arrangement.
The Village Committee elections covered 587 committees and 4,597 seats, with all results declared after uncontested victories largely by the Motha and BJP and three vacant seats. The final State Election Commission position showed Tipra Motha winning both a substantial share of uncontested seats and the largest number of seats in direct contests.
