Tipra Motha President Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhawl said on Tuesday that his party could claim to form the government in Tripura in case no party or alliance (either the BJP or the Congress-Left combine) is able to gain a majority.

“It may so happen that we may be the single-largest party in the state… in a post-poll scenario, we are willing to support from outside (any party which is able to form government), but you have to agree on paper and on the floor of the House that a new state will be created,” said Hrangkhawl, a former militant chieftain, in an interview to PTI.

This is in sharp contraction from the party's earlier stance. Tipra Motha earlier indicated that it is also willing to give outside support to any party or alliance that manages to form a government. However, the support will be based on the conditionality that the alliance partner agrees “on paper and on the floor of the House” creation of a separate tribal state for indigenous people.

Hrangkhawl also said his party held a meeting in Guwahati on the possibility of a pre-poll alliance with the chief minister of Assam and two BJP leaders from Delhi. The meeting did not yield any results.

The veteran tribal leader had founded the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra after signing the Tripura peace accord with the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Two years back, he merged with Tipra Motha.

In recent times, the regional party has been attracting large numbers of adherents in the state’s tribal areas. Tripra Motha is led by former royal family’s scion Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma who is also chairman of his party and enjoys significant support among the tribal population.

Also Read:Tripura election 2023: Nadda unveils BJP manifesto promising greater tribal autonomy

In a three-cornered election fight, several analysts say that the Left-Congress alliance is re-emerging in the state and newcomer Tipra Motha gaining widespread support in tribal areas. Both can dent BJP's prospectus in the state in combination with anti-incumbency and law and order issues.

In the historic 2018 election, BJP stormed to power with 36 seats outsting CPM, which has been in power since 1993. Half of the 36 seats were won from the tribal areas.

In the last assembly elections held in 2018, BJP had stormed to power with 36 seats, half of which were won from the tribal areas. With the rise of Tipra Motha, a large chunk of the 20 tribal seats is expected to shift allegiance. While in the plains, where mostly non-tribals live, anti-incumbency and law and order issues may dent the ruling party’s tally.

Also Read:Tripura Assembly Elections 2023: Key constituencies that could decide the winner

-With inputs from PTI

First Published:Feb 14, 2023 1:52 PM IST