BJP central observers hold crucial meeting amid differences

Amid growing ‘tensions and differences of opinion within the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’ and its alliance partner, the Tipra Motha Party (TMP), a crucial closed-door meeting was held in the presence of central observers at the party’s state headquarters here on Wednesday.

Party sources said BJP’s Northeast coordinator and national spokesperson Sambit Patra, the party’s central observer and former Lok Sabha member Rajdeep Roy, along with senior party leaders, ministers, MLAs, and office bearers, attended the meeting.

Patra, who is also the Lok Sabha member from Puri, visited Gomati district on Tuesday, immediately after he arrived in Agartala along with Roy and offered prayers at the 524-year-old Tripura Sundari Temple, one of the 51 Shakti Peethas revered by Hindus.

Patra also held a series of meetings with Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha, state president Rajib Bhattacharjee, and select leaders, ministers, and MLAs on Tuesday night and Wednesday.

After the meeting, CM Dr Saha wrote on his official X account: “Had a courtesy meeting with Hon’ble MP & Northeast Coordinator of BJP Sambit Patra at my official residence today. We discussed various key organisational issues.”

Following Wednesday’s meeting, state Tourism and Transport Minister and BJP leader Sushanta Chowdhury wrote in a Facebook post: “At the state party headquarters today, BJP national spokesperson and MP Dr. Sambit Patra, state in-charge Dr. Rajdeep Roy, party president Rajib Bhattacharjee, along with my esteemed colleagues from the state council of ministers, MLAs, and senior party functionaries, attended an organisational meeting.”

Chowdhury said the meeting discussed in details various upcoming organisational programmes and activities. Some recent developments have put the ruling BJP in an awkward position and rocked state politics.

On October 19, the BJP served a show-cause notice to its sitting MLA, Tafajjal Hossain, for making adverse comments against former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and former Union Minister Pratima Bhoumik.

The notice stated that disciplinary action would be taken if the MLA’s reply was not satisfactory.

Speaking during a football match at Boxanagar in Sepahijala district on October 18, Hossain had accused both Deb and Bhoumik of not providing funds for the construction of a gallery at a playground.

Meanwhile, comments made by Scheduled Castes and Animal Resource Development Minister Sudhangshu Das triggered a political storm, with opposition parties including the CPI-M and Congress turning it into a major issue.

In an interview, the minister allegedly admitted that some leaders collect money from contractors to fund their social work expenses. The video clip of the minister’s interview went viral, sparking public outrage. Das later threatened to file separate cases in the court against a social media content creator and Leader of Opposition Jitendra Chaudhury for criticising his remarks, saying he was “embarrassed beyond words.”

In another development, senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Pratima Bhoumik last week engaged in a heated argument with senior police officials near Nailahabari in Dhalai district after her vehicle was stopped at a barricade, put up by the police.

The confrontation exposed internal rifts within the ruling BJP and raised questions over law enforcement actions following recent violence at Santirbazar in the same district.

Bhoumik sarcastically slammed the state’s law and order situation and the role of the police in handling the violent activities of the tribal-based Tipra Motha Party (TMP), which is also an ally of the BJP.

In recent months, a “sweet-and-sour relationship” has continued between the ruling BJP and its ally TMP.

TMP activists, in a series of attacks across different districts, injured more than 20 BJP members and karyakartas.

The TMP-affiliated Tiprasa Civil Society (TCS), led by TMP MLA Ranjit Debbarma, observed a 24-hour state-wide shutdown on October 23 in support of its eight-point charter of demands, including the deportation of illegal migrants.

During the shutdown, a section of TMP activists attacked several people and officials at Santirbazar in Dhalai district, seriously injuring more than 12 individuals.

Among the injured were Salema Block Development Officer (BDO) Abhijit Majumdar, Kamalpur Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Samudra Debbarma, engineer Animesh Saha, and trader Subrata Paul, all of whom were hospitalised with critical injuries.

With elections to the politically crucial Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) due early next year, both the BJP and TMP are working separately to expand their influence among tribal communities.