Elections 2023: Hectic parleys begin on seat sharing in Nagaland, Tripura, Meghalaya

A day after the Election Commission announced the schedule of the Assembly polls in three northeastern states -- Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland, hectic parleys have started in New Delhi and in the state capitals between various parties.

Leaders of the BJP and its ally Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) in Nagaland held meetings in New Delhi in presence of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA) and former royal scion Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barman also held separate "inconclusive" meetings with Sarma in the national capital.

Deb Barman reportedly reiterated his stand that his party would ally with those party or parties who would give in writing assurance to their 'Greater Tipraland State' demand. The TIPRA, since 2021, has been demanding elevation of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) areas by granting of 'Greater Tipraland State' under Article 2 and 3 of the Constitution.

In Agartala, the Congress and the CPI-M held a second round of meetings about their seat adjustments for the February 16 elections. Congress Tripura state President Birajit Sinha, CPI-M state Secretary and former MP Jitendra Chowdhury, Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman, former MLA Asish Kumar Kumar Saha, Left Front convenor Narayan Kar and few other leaders were present in the one and a half hourslong meeting.

After the meeting, the Congress and the CPI-M leaders under the banner of "Secular Democratic Forces" apprised the media about the pre-poll violence in Tripura.

Barman said that people have serious apprehension whether they would be able to cast votes or not in the forthcoming Assembly polls. "Since the BJP government came to power in Tripura in 2018, people could not cast their vote in different elections. We (Congress and CPI-M) came together for restoring law and order situation and democracy," he told the media.

In Delhi, the Assam Chief Minister accompanied by the Nagaland BJP leaders after the meeting with NDPP leaders including Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, said that the seat sharing has been finalised.

"The NDPP would field candidates in 40 seats and the BJP would contest in the remaining 20 seats in Nagaland. BJP would go alone in Meghalaya. Another BJP team has been looking after the seat sharing and alliance affairs of Tripura," Sarma told the media in Delhi.

In another development in Tripura, responding to the influential tribal-based party TIPRA's appeal, the ruling BJP's ally, the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) agreed to hold discussions on contesting the February 16 Assembly election together for the all-round development and protection of the tribals.