Ahead of screening committee meeting in Delhi, Congress meets TIPRA Motha to forge greater opposition alliance in Tripura

What Congress said after the meeting

Former minister, sitting MLA and Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Sudip Roy Barman, who joined the meeting on Friday, criticised the BJP for allegedly failing to deliver on promises of benefits to be given to the BJP.

He said, “Pradyot Kishore, Animesh Debbarma, Congress president Ashish Kumar Saha and I joined the meeting. We spoke on how the BJP betrayed the tribals and failed on its promises. We had a discussion with Jitendra Chaudhary earlier on what is to be done for the welfare of the state.”

Barman added, “We have said what needed to be said to Motha leaders as well. We can’t disclose everything at this point. But we have put forth our stand. Now they (TIPRA Motha) will have to consider the seriousness and the logic of what we said and make a decision. We hope something good will happen very soon.”

Barman also said that the state Congress leaders would fly to New Delhi to join a meeting of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) screening committee, where the party would discuss the elections, organisation and other things.

Barman supported Motha’s direct funding for Tripura ADC demand and on the tribal party’s demand for Greater Tipraland, he said “all of Motha’s demands are legitimate as per the Constitution.”

However, Barman didn’t speak on the statehood demand, even though he said Motha supremo Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma started his politics from Congress party and the grand old party still considers him as a “Congressman”.

In an oblique reference to discussions that transpired in the meeting, Barman said the BJP has been doing dirty politics on tribal issues, including on the Kokborok script issue, and said these are “tactics to smash regional parties”.

While not giving out details, he said, “Everything was positive (in the meeting). Opposition votes should come together and we should bury small differences and defeat the fascist forces.”

What TIPRA Motha said

Meanwhile, Animesh Debbarma said, “They spoke to us for alliance. We have heard them. We also told them what we want from the central government. Tribals of Tripura got ADC due to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, three more ST seats due to Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. That’s all that I can tell. Congress knows about our problems. We shall discuss within our party and take a call.”

Asked if Motha is considering an alliance with CPI(M), since Congress and the communist party are already in the INDIA alliance, the opposition leader said, “Everyone knows Congress is in alliance with the CPI(M) in the INDIA (alliance). They (Congress) too know they have an alliance with them (CPIM) but still they have come to meet us. So, it’s fine.”

What the CPI(M) said

Speaking to indianexpress.com, CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury said his party welcomes the move if the meeting between TIPRA Motha and Congress leads to a greater opposition unity. He said eventually it will consolidate anti-BJP votes since the communist party is trying to do the same nationally.

Chaudhary had earlier this month said his party had held no talks with Motha and that he felt the tribal party was being played with by the BJP over a host of issues.

He had also said that his party has decided to continue its alliance with the grand old party for the upcoming Parliamentary election. He has also urged all “secular, democratic, anti-BJP” forces to unite to defeat the saffron party in the two Lok Sabha constituencies in the state as a part of the larger nationwide INDIA alliance against BJP.

Tripura has two Lok Sabha constituency seats – West Tripura and East Tripura. Among these, the East Tripura Parliamentary Constituency is reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST).

Friday’s meeting is considered to be crucial as an all opposition alliance in Tripura could mean a challenge to the BJP, even though the saffron party has had landslide victories in all elections since the party first came to power in Tripura in 2018.

Burying the past

Meanwhile, the CPI(M) and Congress, which have been bitter opponents and keep accusing each other of murdering hundreds of activists of their parties, had decided to put things in the past and entered a seat-sharing partnership in the 2023 Assembly election and won in 14 seats, 11 by the CPI(M) camp and three in favour of Congress. Congress had scored zero in the 2018 Assembly polls.

The parties continued the partnership in assembly by-polls held just a few months after the Assembly election last year and lost in all the three, eventually bringing the CPI(M) tally down to 10.

Meanwhile, the Tipra Motha, which was floated just three years back in 2021 over the demand of a separate Greater Tipraland state for tribals, emerged as the primary Opposition party.

Congress and the Communist party were seen hobnobbing with Motha prior to the 2023 Assembly polls. However, the tribal party declined to formally join the Opposition bandwagon and chose to fight it alone, eventually failing to take on the BJP by itself.

The CPI(M) later accused Motha of maintaining “clandestine links” with the BJP and putting up candidates in several seats to divide Opposition votes and make way for the BJP. Tipra Motha made similar accusations on the Left party as well and said it lost several seats since the CPI(M) failed to see which seats they had real potential of winning and the BJP won as a result.