Did the rise of Tipra Motha, pull down BJP’s tribal vote tally in Tripura

The BJP had ended the rule of the Left in Tripura. The CPM had ruled the state for 25 years

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

The
Tripura
results
are
close
to
call
as
of
now.
It
appeared
to
be
a
done
deal
for
the
BJP,
but
the
Left
Alliance
with
19
seats
is
battling
hard
against
the
BJP
which
is
leading
in
29,
two
short
of
the
majority
mark.

While
the
BJP
and
Left
Alliance
are
in
a
close
battle,
it
is
the
Tipra
Motha
Party
which
is
making
waves.
The
Tipra
Motha
is
leading
in
11
seats
and
has
made
significant
gains
in
the
tribal
belt
of
the
state.
Early
trends
show
that
the
Tipra
may
have
eaten
into
the
vote
share
of
the
BJP
in
these
belts.

In
2018,
the
BJP
registered
an
astounding
win,
throwing
the
25
year
old
Left
government
in
Tripura.

If
one
looks
at
the
campaign
of
the
BJP
in
2018,
it
adopted
a
multi-pronged
strategy,
of
which
an
important
part
was
securing
the
tribal
votes.

Tripura:
How
Pradyot
Manikya’s
Tipra
Motha
Party
may
hold
key
to
power
in
northeastern
state

In
Tripura,
one-third
of
the
population
is
tribal.
There
are
20
seats
for
Scheduled
Tribes.
Focusing
on
these
seats
ensured
that
the
BJP
alliance
ended
up
with
44
of
the
60
seats.

Following
its
dismal
performance
in
2013,
the
BJP
in
2018
allied
with
the
Indigenous
People’s
Front
of
Tripura
(IPFT),
which
was
strong
among
the
tribal
communities
who
were
agitating
for
a
separate
state.

The
BJP
also
promised
the
tribals
land
rights,
employment
and
measures
to
preserve
tribal
culture.

The
effort
paid
off
for
the
BJP,
with
the
party
winning
10
of
the
ST
reserved
seats.

This
time
the
calculation
has
been
different
with
the
Tipra
Motha
Party
contesting
the
elections.
The
main
poll
issue
for
the
part
was
the
Greater
Tipraland
state.
The
entry
of
Tipra
may
have
changed
the
game
for
the
BJP.
Further,
during
the
previous
elections,
the
promise
made
by
the
IPFT
for
a
Greater
Tipraland
was
diluted
after
the
elections.

Another
writing
on
the
wall
was
when
the
IPFT-BJP
and
other
parties
lost
the
Tripura
Tribal
Areas
Autonomous
District
Council
Elections
in
March
2021
to
the
Tipra
Motha.
This
was
seen
as
a
major
shift
in
the
loyalty
of
tribal
from
the
BJP-IPFT
alliance.