BJP's Tripura tribal wing hints at contesting TTAADC elections alone

The Bharatiya Janata Party's tribal wing Janajati Morcha in Tripura has hinted at contesting the April 4 Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) election on its own.

Speaking to the media, after a meeting at Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb residence late on Monday evening, Janajati Morcha president Rebati Tripura expressed willingness t to contest the TTAADC election alone in all 28 seats.

Rebati added that the party is not in favour of any friendly fight in selective seats with the Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) as the junior partner has already declared its candidate in 18 seats and had offered only 10 seats to BJP.

Rebati, Member of Parliament and Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma along with several MLAs and leaders participated in the late-night meeting.

There is growing strain between the BJP and the IPFT who partnered to form the government in the state almost three years. I alliance with the IPFT, the BJP won the Assembly polls three years ago in 2018.

In the 60 seat assembly, BJP has 36 MLAs out of which10 are tribal.

Meanwhile, giving details of the meeting with the chief minister, Rebati said Deb had given them a patient hearing and said that they were waiting for the BJP's central leadership response over a seat-sharing agreement with IPFT and the final decision will be known within the next two days.

The MP said that the BJP tribal leaders were not in favour of any seat sharing or understanding with its junior partner and want to directly contest in all the 28 seats. The IPFT had came in the fourth position in previous Lok Sabha election despite claiming that there is no other party existing in the hills of Tripura.

Signalling growing strain between the coalition partners, Janajati Morcha leader and Deputy CM Jishnu Dev Varma said that the internal strategy was discussed in the meeting and a declaration of candidates will be done soon.