Jishnu Dev Varma: The royal in BJP camp, a loyalist through its good times and bad

Born to Ramendra Kishore Dev Varma — also known as ‘Nani Karta’ — and ‘Rajkumari’ Kamal Prabha Devi, ‘Karta (Prince’) Jishnu Dev Varma entered politics almost five decades ago. Between 1989 and 1993, he was a member of the North-Eastern Council Advisory Committee, and was also convenor of the Indian National Council for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).

After stints in both the Congress and Trinamool Congress, he made his move to the BJP as far back as the early 1990s when the party was at the height of its Ram temple movement but enjoyed little support in Tripura. Recognising his potential, the BJP inducted Dev Varma as the Tripura face in its national council in 1993, and later named him its national general secretary in-charge of Tripura.

In 1996, he contested the Lok Sabha elections from East Tripura tribal-reserved constituency as a BJP candidate, followed by the 1998 Tripura Assembly elections and 1999 Lok Sabha polls. While he lost all three times, Dev Varma secured as many as 29% of the votes, the highest as far as the BJP was concerned in Tripura till then.

His loyalty and performance were rewarded when the BJP focused on Tripura as part of its Northeast push starting 2015, and included him as a member of its core committee, though it appointed Biplab Kumar Deb as the party’s Tripura chief.

In the 2018 Assembly elections, the BJP’s projection of Dev Varma as its royal trumpcard against his nephew Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma — the royal scion who was then a working president of the Congress – served the party well.

After the BJP won, Dev Varma was named Deputy CM while Deb took over as CM.

In the coming polls, Dev Varma is facing a tough contest from the CPI(M)-Congress’s joint tribal candidate, Ashok Debbarma, in Charilam. There is another candidate in the race, Subodh Debbarma, belonging to Pradyot’s TIPRA Motha party.

Asked about his chances, Dev Varma said: “They (the CPM and Congress) came together as they are weak. They have been at each other’s throats for decades. Now they have come together in an opportunistic alliance. They claim there is no democracy, they are openly criticising us. How are elections being held if there is no democracy?”

Dev Varma has other interests too; a poet, he has written books such as Children of Water Goddess and Master of Time, and paints and sculpts.

About the TIPRA Motha, he said it was more hype than anything else, and that the big crowds being seen at Pradyot’s rallies are “not new” for tribal politics. While he acknowledged that tribal politics has a traditional space in Tripura, “which the Motha is riding on”, Dev Varma said this space was limited. “They have appeal among some youngsters. But this demand (statehood for tribals) is passing.”

Listing other tribal parties, he talked about how they had risen and disappeared. “Now, the Motha is working in this space. Tripura is a small state by itself, and what he (Pradyot) is doing is niche politics. In that niche, he looks big,” Dev Varma said.

Asked what his priorities would be if voted to power, he said he hoped to make Charilam a hub for education and sports. “Roads, schools have happened, we want to give Level 2 development now. Development should happen more outside Agartala so that progress happens elsewhere,” he said, adding that the BJP’s slogan this time was ‘Chalo Bhobishwot Banai (Let’s make the future)’, against ‘Chalo Paltai (Let’s change)’ from 2018.