Agartala, Nov 1: The BJP and its NDA ally Tipra Motha are expected to finalise their seat-sharing arrangement by Monday night for the upcoming urban local body elections in Tripura, Parliamentary Affairs Minister and senior BJP leader Ratan Lal Nath said on Sunday after negotiations between the two parties in Agartala.
During the meeting held at the State Guest House, Tipra Motha sought eight of the 51 seats in the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC), besides demanding a larger share in other municipalities and nagar panchayats, said Motha MLA Ranjit Debbarma.
“Agartala has 51 seats, including two reserved seats. We will demand eight seats for Tipra Motha. The final number will be decided through discussions on how many seats we will contest and how many the BJP is willing to give us,” Debbarma told reporters.
He said the party would seek seats in areas where it has a substantial support base, including certain Muslim-majority localities. The issue of chairperson posts in urban local bodies, he added, would be taken up after the elections.
Nath described the discussions as cordial and said both parties had agreed to contest the urban body elections together under the NDA banner.
He said Tipra Motha had proposed a joint contest following the two parties’ electoral understanding during the ADC village committee elections. The BJP had agreed to hold discussions to consider the regional party’s demands, he added.
“We will discuss their proposals at the party level and take a final decision by Monday night,” Nath said.
Meanwhile, Tipra Motha leader and Minister of State (MoS) Brishaketu Debbarma expressed hope that the tripartite agreement involving the Centre, Tripura government and Tipra Motha would be implemented shortly, saying the party continued to repose faith in the assurances given by the Centre and Chief Minister Manik Saha.
Referring to the Chief Minister’s recent statement on the agreement, Debbarma said the party was hopeful of its implementation within a short period. He added that party supremo Pradyot Kishore Debbarma was also holding discussions on the matter.
Asked about the delay in implementation even though the Tiprasa accord was signed back in early March 2024 with assurance of six months time frame in its implementation, and particularly after the recent declaration before the Village Committee elections of one-month timeframe which had also elapsed, Debbarma said the party would continue to wait for the Centre to fulfil its commitments. The final decision on the party’s future course of action would rest with Pradyot Kishore Debbarma, he added.
The negotiations were attended by BJP leaders Ratan Lal Nath and Bipin Debbarma, while Tipra Motha was represented by Brishaketu Debbarma, Ranjit Debbarma, former TTAADC Chief Executive Member Purna Chandra Jamatia and Prashanta Sinha.
The BJP’s core committee is expected to take up the final seat-sharing arrangement on Monday.
