'We are together': Manik Saha signals BJP-Tipra Motha-IPFT tie-up

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Tuesday said the BJP, the Tipra Motha Party and the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) should work together for the state, on the day the BJP joined the Tipra Motha-led executive of the tribal council, India Today NE reported.

Speaking about the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), Saha said there was "no difference" between the council and the state government, and called for closer coordination on problems faced by tribal communities and the wider population.

"We are together, and we want the Government of Tripura and TTAADC to work jointly for the welfare of the poor and the development of all people," he said.

More posts for BJP in the council

Saha referred to the appointment of a BJP member as an Executive Member in the TTAADC and said another BJP Member of District Council (MDC) would be given an important position in the coming days.

He described these steps as the start of a new understanding between the BJP and Tipra Motha, and said he also wanted to bring the IPFT into the arrangement. "The three of us will work together to build a new Tripura," he said.

Saha said disagreements should be settled through talks rather than confrontation, adding that "every problem has a solution through dialogue". He also invoked Prime Minister Narendra Modi's slogan "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas".

Background

Seven new executive members of the TTAADC, six from Tipra Motha and one from the BJP, were sworn in at Khumulwng on Tuesday. Tipra Motha won 24 of the 28 elected seats in the council in April and the BJP took the remaining four. The BJP, Tipra Motha and IPFT are partners in the state government, but contested the April TTAADC elections separately after failing to agree on seats.

Relations between the BJP and Tipra Motha have swung between cooperation and open friction in recent years, with Tipra Motha pressing for a Tiprasa Accord on the political and economic demands of the state's indigenous people. Chief Minister Saha and Tipra Motha founder Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma have held talks on the accord, with a further round expected in Delhi.

The two parties are also fighting the November 27 urban local body elections together under the NDA banner, while the CPI(M) and the Congress failed to agree on a seat-sharing deal.

What to watch

The next test is whether the BJP gets the second council post Saha mentioned, and whether the IPFT is brought into the TTAADC arrangement.