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New Delhi/Agartala, November 3 (IANS) Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma-led National People’s Party (NPP) and Tipra Motha Party (TMP) chief Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma along with several other regional parties and tribal leaders are likely to join hands to raise the issues of the indigenous people of the northeastern region.
A TMP leader said in Agartala that NPP and TMP chiefs as well as former BJP national spokesperson and Nagaland ministers Mamhonlumo Kikon and Assam’s Dima Hasao, People’s Party founder Daniel Langthasa besides several other eminent leaders from Nagaland, Manipur and other northeastern states are expected to be part of the new platform.
Both NPP and TMP are currently allies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
In an interesting political development, TMP supremo Debbarma stressed the need for regional unity in the Northeast after attending the swearing-in ceremony of the Chief Executive Member (CEM) of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) in Assam on October 5.
Debbarma, a former royal scion of Tripura, had attended the swearing-in ceremony of Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) president Hagrama Mohilary, who took charge as the CEM of BTC in Kokrajhar district.
However, it is not yet clear whether BPF will be included in the proposed new platform.
“NPP chief Sangma, TMP chief Debbarma and other leaders will brief the media at the Constitution Club in New Delhi on Tuesday and make announcements about their future plans and mission,” the TMP leader said.
After hectic negotiations and the signing of a tripartite agreement on March 2 last year, the then opposition TMP, which has 13 MLAs, joined the BJP-led coalition government on March 7, 2024, reshaping Tripura’s political landscape. Two TMP MLAs – Animesh Debbarma and Brishketu Debbarma – were later inducted into the cabinet led by Chief Minister Manik Saha.
TMP and its key organizations have been organizing intermittent agitations in Tripura in support of their demands including implementation of the tripartite agreement and identification and deportation of illegal immigrants.
The party had also demonstrated in Delhi on 9 September regarding its demands.
Since 2021, the TMP has been ruling the 30-member politically important Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), which covers about two-thirds of the state’s 10,491 sq km area and is home to over 12.16 lakh people, about 84 per cent of whom are tribals.
The ruling BJP and TMP have continued to have a checkered relationship in recent months.
TMP workers reportedly injured more than 20 BJP members and workers in series of attacks in different districts.
TMP affiliated Tiprasa Civil Society (TCS), led by TMP MLA Ranjit Debbarma, observed a 24-hour statewide bandh on October 23 in support of their eight-point demands, including deportation of illegal immigrants.
During the bandh, a section of TMP workers allegedly attacked several people and officials at Santhirbazar in Dhalai district, leaving more than a dozen seriously injured.
The injured included Salema block development officer (BDO) Abhijeet Majumdar, Kamalpur sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Samudra Debbarma, engineer Animesh Saha and businessman Subrata Paul, all of whom were admitted to hospital with serious injuries.
With the politically crucial TTAADC elections due early next year, both the BJP and TMP are working separately to increase their influence among the tribal communities.
–IANS
SC/VD