Amid raging face-off between Biplab Deb and Manik Saha, Tripura BJP faces the heat

They were once close friends, with Deb as CM having inducted Saha into the BJP from the Congress in 2018. The latter had continued as an unassuming Deb loyalist, rising through the party ranks rather swiftly, till he was chosen by the party high command to replace Deb as CM in a sudden move in May 2022.

In a swift turn of events since then, Saha quickly won a byelection to cement his chief ministership and then transformed into a seasoned politician by spearheading the BJP’s victory in the 2023 state Assembly election.

Meanwhile, Deb rapidly receded from the state’s political landscape, after he was put in charge of the BJP’s Haryana unit, which required him to stay at New Delhi or Haryana for extended periods. He was last seen in Tripura earlier this month, holding health camps as part of his MP area development mandate.

The current round of bickering between the two leaders started on May 10, when Saha said at an organisational meet in Tripura’s Gomati district that the state government is not meant to be in power only for the next five years, but would continue for long, wherein he would eventually pass the baton of governance to someone else, who would, in turn, hand it over to a third person.

His comments included jibes that observers felt were directed at Deb. “Nobody is permanent. If I thought Tripura won’t run without me, I would be living in a fool’s paradise. We’ve seen how a chief minister of 4-5 years has vanished,” Saha had said.

Eleven days later, Deb held a media briefing at his official residence in Agartala, saying a section of “outsiders” with “external influence” were weakening the BJP in Tripura, and claimed he had apprised the party high command of the situation. “A BJP-led government is in power for the second term [in Tripura]. Ever since the state was freed from the communists, I had tried to do my job with my best effort,” he said, adding that although the BJP is a “disciplined party”, he had observed that “outsiders” were influencing it from time to time.

“I have informed this [to the party top brass]. We shall run the party ourselves under the leadership of Modi and Shah. I have apprised our top leadership of the external interferences. BJP is a disciplined party. I have full faith in PM Modi. I got the chance to work with his blessings, and will continue to work in whatever capacity he gives me,” Deb said, refraining from elaborating further on these “outsiders”.

Deb’s comments were considered significant since he was mostly away from Tripura last month. In fact, his “outsider” comments were made during a morning stopover in Agartala on May 21 that lasted half a day, during which time he addressed the media briefing in the afternoon and left for Delhi by evening.

Asked what he meant by “external influence”, the former CM declined to comment, but said, “Everyone understands who is influencing externally and why. The party organisation is adversely affected here due to this. I’m not a bureaucratic officer. But whenever such interference happens, it’s my duty to present it at the appropriate forum. I shall do my job.”

He did not clarify what propelled him to speak on BJP’s internal problems, but said the party doesn’t belong to any one person. “It doesn’t belong to any one person. Most of the state leaders have worked with me. Eighty per cent of them joined with me. They didn’t come from other parties. But they have to understand how to work while in this party,” he said, indicating his disagreement with the saffron party’s activities in the state.

While the party leaders brushed away the Deb-Saha stand-off reports, its reflection was seen a few times in comments of Saha and other BJP leaders in the following days.

Speaking to media on the sidelines of the BJP state executive committee meeting last week, Saha rubbished Deb’s allegations regarding efforts to weaken the party, and said, “The party is united and strong. We are a family. From time to time, some issues crop up within the family. I’m sure these too will be resolved by the guidance of our guardians.”

Within an hour of his “outsider” comments in Agartala, Deb was summoned to New Delhi. Saha’s success in catapulting the BJP to a second term in Tripura, despite a strong push by the alliance of the Congress and communist parties, and an aggressive campaign by the TIPRA Motha before the polls, has also positioned him as the BJP’s go-to guy in a crisis in the state.

However, Saha has landed in another row after he recently upset many people in the state, especially tribals, by allegedly asking party workers to refrain from addressing TIPRA Motha chief Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma as “Maharaj” at the BJP state executive meeting on May 22, and to call him “Pradyot ji” instead.

Even after Independence, many people of Tripura have continued calling royal scion Pradyot Kishore (and his father before him) “Maharaj” as a sign of respect, even though neither has actually administered the state.

As tribal bodies protested the CM’s “insult of Pradyot” as equal to “insulting tribals of Tripura” and demanded that the CM withdraw his words — with Pradyot himself saying he does not need anyone’s certificate to be what he is — Biplab Deb waded into the row and told local media that he felt the instruction not to address Pradyot as “Maharaj” was “someone’s personal opinion”, not the party’s stand.

On Thursday, CM Saha visited Pradyot at the Raj Andar — the Ujjayanta Palace annexe where the erstwhile royals now live. The CM later said he went to check on the royal scion’s health, though sources claimed they held discussions about the “misunderstanding” regarding Saha’s instruction, and have agreed to bury the hatchet.

The conflict between Deb and Saha has however left the state BJP workers confused. While some Deb loyalists declined to comment, Rajib Bhattacharya — a staunch loyalist who has moderated his stance since becoming state BJP president — said he would speak with Deb and work together with all party leaders.

With byelection for the Dhanpur Assembly constituency due soon, after Union MoS Pratima Bhoumik resigned after winning the seat to retain her central portfolio, and the Lok Sabha polls a year away, experts feel the discontent within the BJP could harm its prospects.

“These differences were created by an internal power struggle within the BJP. The party may have retained power, but its organisation doesn’t appear strong. The differences could affect both the organisation, and the party’s performance in the next general elections,” said veteran political watcher Swapan Bhattacharya.

The Opposition is having a field day over the BJP’s internal feuds. CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury said the factional feuds within the BJP were “bound to happen”, since it is a party, he alleged, without any ideology while having only a façade of unity. “BJP doesn’t have any ideology. Their display of nationalism is false. Their unity is fake. It’s clear from these incidents, which will only increase,” Chaudhury said.