BJP’s Tripura ally TMP expresses discontent over ‘slow’ progress of terms of tripartite accord

AGARTALA — Barely three-and-a-half months after the Tipra Motha Party (TMP) joined the BJP-led government in Tripura, the tribal party on Thursday expressed strong displeasure over sluggish progress in implementing the tripartite accord signed between it and the Central and Tripura governments for the “constitutional solution” of problems faced by tribals. 

TMP President Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhawl, accompanied by party leaders, told media persons that they might re-assess its tie-up with the BJP if the state government showed a pessimistic attitude in supporting and implementing their demands.

He said that the TMP is in alliance with the BJP but if the dominant party did not maintain its commitments given to the TMP, “Why should we stay here? We also have a responsibility to the people of the state. We need to do our duty.”

Political observers said that the TMP’s threat is to keep its base among the tribals, unlike the BJP’s other alliance partner, the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), which secured eight seats in the 2018 Assembly election but only a single seat in 2023, proving declining its base among the tribals.

The TMP, which won 13 seats – all reserved for tribals – in 2023, on Thursday also announced that it would contest the three-tier panchayat polls next month alone.

“We cannot lose our identity as a regional party. We would highlight the basic issues and problems of the tribals. We would fight for the constitutional solutions of the tribals’ demands and issues,” Hrangkhawl told the media.

He said that they are not happy and already told this to the party founder supremo Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, who, he claimed, has also expressed his dissatisfaction over the slow progress of the tripartite agreement, which focused on providing socio-cultural, economic, and political rights to the indigenous population and for their development.

The TMP also urged the State Election Commission to conduct the elections for the Village Committees (equivalent to Gram Panchayats) in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) areas.

After year-long hectic parlays, the TMP signed the tripartite agreement with the Centre and the Tripura government on March 2 and on March 7 two MLAs of the party became ministers of the BJP-led government.

According to the agreement, a Joint Working Group/Committee would be formed to work out and implement the mutually agreed issues in a time-bound manner to ensure an “honourable” solution to tribals’ demands.