After winning ADC elections, Tipra Motha chief calls for indigenous unity in Northeast

Tipra Motha Party (TMP) supremo Pradyot Kishore Debbarma, whose party retained control of the politically crucial Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) in the recent bypolls in Tripura, said on Saturday that all-round development of the indigenous people of the Northeast is vital.

 After leading a party delegation to meet Tripura Governor Indrasena Reddy Nallu at Lok Bhavan, the TMP Chief stressed the importance of unity among the region's diverse ethnic communities.

"We should fight against Pakistan and Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh. We should not fight among ourselves. If one community fights another, it will be damaging for all of us," Debbarma said to the media.

He said the Governor would now initiate the necessary steps to constitute the new council in the TTAADC, while the party would soon select its Chairman and Chief Executive Member (CEM).

As the term of the present council ended on Saturday, outgoing CEM Purna Chandra Jamatia submitted his resignation to the Governor Nallu.

Jamatia, along with Minister Brishaketu Debbarma and newly elected TTAADC members -- C.K. Jamatia and Runiel Deb Barma, accompanied the TMP Chief during the meeting.

Pradyot Kishore Debbarma reiterated that the Governor, as the constitutional custodian of the council, would issue the required notification, after which the party would proceed strictly in accordance with the law.

However, the political undertones were evident. Debbarma said the party's leadership would soon meet to "review the results in detail" and decide on the future of its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), amid growing signs of strain in the partnership.

In a notably candid attack, he accused sections within the BJP of attempting "bullying" and "horse-trading" to destabilise his party despite their alliance.

"If we are together, why attempt to break us?" the TMP Chief asked, asserting that such actions would not be tolerated.

Emphasising that the strong mandate had emboldened him, Debbarma said, "I will be more vocal now. There will be no compromise on the rights of my people."

He also indicated that unresolved legislative and constitutional issues concerning indigenous rights could be taken to the Supreme Court, signalling a possible shift of the political battle to the judicial arena.

Despite the sharp rhetoric, the TMP Chief called for restraint, urging all political stakeholders to avoid post-poll hostility.

The verdict, he said, reflects a clear endorsement of "rights-based politics", which his party intends to pursue with renewed focus.

Meanwhile, in a decisive victory in the politically significant TTAADC elections held on April 12, the TMP, an ally of the ruling BJP in the state government, retained control of the state's second most important constitutional body after the state Assembly.

The 30-member TTAADC comprises 28 elected representatives and two members nominated by the state government, and it administers nearly 70 per cent of Tripura's 10,491 square km geographical area.

The tribal-based TMP secured 24 seats, six more than in the previous elections.

Chairman Jagadish Debbarma and Chief Executive Member (CEM) Purna Chandra Jamatia, both senior TMP leaders, have been re-elected.

The BJP, however, managed to win only four seats this time, a sharp decline from the 10 seats it secured in the 2021 TTAADC elections.

The CPI (M)-led Left Front and the Congress, as in the 2021 polls, once again failed to open their accounts.

In the 2021 TTAADC elections, the BJP had contested 11 seats and won nine, while a BJP-backed Independent candidate also emerged victorious and later joined the TMP.

The TMP had then won 18 seats, wresting control of the council from the CPI (M)-led Left Front after several years.

Tribal communities account for nearly one-third of Tripura's 4.2 million population and remain a decisive factor in the state's politics.

The BJP and its two tribal-based allies -- TMP and IPFT -- had contested the April 12 elections separately after failing to reach an electoral understanding for the TTAADC polls.

Since 2021, the TMP has governed the strategically important council, widely regarded as the second most significant constitutional and political institution in Tripura after the state Assembly.

More than 83.52 per cent of the 9,62,697 eligible voters exercised their franchise in the April 12 elections to determine the fate of 173 candidates, including eight women. The results were declared on Friday (April 17).