Agartala, March 12:
The ruling BJP in Tripura on Thursday held a crucial core committee meeting at the party’s state headquarters in Agartala to deliberate on key political developments, including the upcoming by-election in the state and preparations for the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) polls.
The meeting was attended by several senior leaders, including Chief Minister Manik Saha, state BJP president and MP Rajib Bhattacharjee, party’s state in-charge and former Silchar MP Rajdeep Roy, former Union minister Pratima Bhowmik, former MP Rebati Tripura, ministers Ratan Lal Nath and Pranajit Singha Roy, MLA Bhagavan Das, along with other core committee members.
Chief Minister Saha, who just returned today earlier from Delhi, speaking to reporters after the meeting said the discussions primarily revolved around two issues — the impending by-election to the Dharmanagar Assembly constituency and the upcoming Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council elections.
He said the by-poll has become necessary following the demise of the Assembly Speaker, which has created a vacancy in the Dharmanagar seat.
According to the Chief Minister, the party discussed possible strategies for the election, the profile of a suitable candidate, and the overall approach the BJP should adopt once the Election Commission announces the poll schedule.
“The core committee discussed what kind of candidate would be appropriate and how we should approach the election,” Saha said, adding that preparations must be finalised once the by-poll is formally notified.
The meeting also reviewed the party’s strategy for the upcoming TTAADC elections.
Saha said the leaders discussed ways to strengthen the party’s organisational work and consolidate its position ahead of the crucial council polls expected in a little over a month.
On whether the ruling alliance partners — the BJP and TIPRA Motha Party — would contest the ADC polls together, the Chief Minister avoided making a categorical statement. However, he reiterated that the BJP continues to maintain its alliance with both TIPRA Motha and the Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura.
“I want to clarify that even now our alliance partners are IPFT and Motha. How we contest elections in the future is a matter for discussion later, but as of now they remain our partners. The BJP has never abandoned its alliance partners. If someone wishes to leave, that is a different matter, but it has never been from our side,” he said.
Responding to speculation that some leaders from the TIPRA Motha party — including ministers, MLAs and elected members of the district council — may soon join the BJP, the Chief Minister dismissed the reports as rumours.
“Many kinds of things are being written nowadays, but there is nothing like that,” he said.
Saha also indicated that the core committee would prepare a list of prospective candidates for both the Dharmanagar by-election and the TTAADC polls. The list will be forwarded to the BJP’s election committee, which will take the final call and announce the candidates.
Notably, the Chief Minister’s remarks came a day after Pradyot Kishore Debbarma said the upcoming ADC election would be a direct political contest between him and Saha, asserting that the outcome could influence whether a tribal leader becomes the Chief Minister of Tripura in the 2028 Assembly elections.
Despite the political rhetoric, the BJP leadership on Thursday refrained from spelling out its final electoral strategy regarding its alliance partners for the upcoming district council polls.
