Agartala, September 5: The BJP, its ruling allies TIPRA Motha and IPFT will contest the upcoming Village Committee elections under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) together, Chief Minister Manik Saha said to reporters in MBB airport on Saturday after returning to Agartala from New Delhi, where he held talks with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and TIPRA Motha supremo Pradyot Kishore Debbarma.
The announcement comes a day after the high-level meeting in New Delhi, which focused on the proposed electoral understanding ahead of the September 28 Village Committee polls as well as implementation of the March 2024 Tripartite Agreement. Saha described the discussions as “fruitful and constructive”.
The elections to 587 Village Committees, covering 4,597 seats, are scheduled for September 28, with counting on October 5. The polls will be the first Village Committee elections in the TTAADC in a decade.
The New Delhi talks assumed significance as TIPRA Motha had earlier made implementation of the 2024 agreement, particularly protection of indigenous land rights, a key condition for any electoral understanding with the BJP. Pradyot Debbarma had publicly said that his party would not enter an alliance without a written assurance on land rights for indigenous people in the Sixth Schedule areas.
The Tripartite Agreement, signed on March 2, 2024, between the Centre, Tripura government, TIPRA and other stakeholders, provides for an amicable resolution of issues concerning indigenous people relating to land and political rights, economic development, identity, culture and language. It also envisaged a Joint Working Committee to work out and implement the agreed measures in a time-bound manner.
Following the Friday’s meeting, Shah assured the TIPRA Motha leadership that the accord would be implemented in phases, with steps concerning land rights expected to begin next month. The implementation is being discussed within the constitutional framework, including the Sixth Schedule, while protecting the identity, culture and interests of all communities.
The political understanding between the three ruling alliance partners marks a significant shift ahead of the crucial grassroots polls. The BJP and TIPRA Motha had contested the recent TTAADC elections separately, making their proposed joint contest in the Village Committee elections politically significant.
Saha said the implementation of the agreement would be taken forward in a time-bound manner without hurting the sentiments and interests of any community, according to his remarks after the Delhi discussions.
The developments are expected to provide a fresh political framework for cooperation between the BJP and TIPRA Motha, while the implementation of the Tripartite Agreement could become the key test of the new understanding in the coming months.
