Tipra Motha Party Sweeps Tripura Tribal Council Polls, BJP Down To 4 Seats

Pradyot Kishore Debbarma and his Tipra Motha Party (TMP) secured a landslide victory in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council on Friday, winning 24 of the 28 seats. The BJP, an ally of the TMP in the state government, was reduced to four seats.

Although the two parties are allies, they contested the council polls separately. Relations between the two have recently become strained. Calling the sweep a "complete whitewash", Debbarma asserted that voters had decisively pushed back against what he described as an adversarial political approach towards indigenous communities.

"The message is unambiguous. The people have rejected a particular point of view represented at the highest level against the indigenous population," he added.

Debbarma confirmed receiving outreach from leaders across the political spectrum, including the BJP, but declined to provide further details. "It would not be appropriate to discuss those conversations publicly," he said.

Reflecting on the campaign, he maintained that he refrained from personal attacks despite provocation. "My family, my parents, and my community were targeted. My party was mocked. Yet, we maintained dignity. Even when responding, we did not cross the line," he said, drawing a contrast with the tone used by his opponents.

The TMP founder also mounted a direct attack on the state BJP leadership, including Chief Minister Manik Saha, as his party took control of the council. Debbarma claimed that indigenous voters had "exposed the difference between commitment and convenience."

"People have seen who stood with them on the ground and who arrived just before polls with rallies and rhetoric," he said.

Positioning the victory beyond electoral arithmetic, he framed the mandate as a struggle for rights rather than a simple quest for power. He declared that the win was not about forming councils or occupying posts, but about securing constitutional guarantees for land, identity, education and political rights. "Without that, power is meaningless," he said.