An alliance with the tribal-based Tipra Motha, formed just a few days before the Lok Sabha poll dates were announced, helped the BJP win both seats in Tripura by huge margins, an analysis of the result shows.
In both Tripura East and Tripura West constituencies, the ruling BJP not only succeeded in retaining the seats but also managed to increase the vote share compared to the 2019 parliamentary elections.
The BJP candidate’s vote share went up from 51.74 per cent in 2019 to 72.67 per cent in 2024 in the Tripura West seat. The vote share of the party nominee increased from 43.32 per cent in 2019 to 68.48 per cent in Tripura West in 2024.
“The BJP has consolidated its position in the state’s tribal areas after Tipra Motha joined the coalition government. The result shows that the party’s vote share increased in both parliamentary seats”, BJP state president Rajib Bhattacharjee said.
Rajya Sabha MP and ex-chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb won the Tripura West Lok Sabha seat, defeating his nearest rival Asish Kumar Saha, the president of Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee, by 6,11,578 votes. In 2019, BJP’s Pratima Bhoumik won this seat by a margin of 5,73,532 votes.
Kriti Devi Debbarman, sister of Tipra Motha founder Pradyot Debbarma, bagged the Tripura East Lok Sabha seat, defeating her nearest rival Rajendra Reang of the CPM by 4,86,819 votes. The saffron party nominee Rebati Tripura had won the seat by 4.5 lakh votes five years ago.
Tipra Motha, the erstwhile main Opposition party of Tripura, joined the BJP-led government on March 7, nine days before the Lok Sabha elections were announced in Delhi.
The Tipra Motha with 13 MLAs in the 60-member Assembly got two ministerial berths.
The development took place days after a tripartite agreement for amicably resolving all issues of the indigenous people of Tripura was signed in New Delhi among the Tipra Motha, the Tripura government and the Centre.
“It was not possible for the BJP alone to win both Lok Sabha seats massively. It was the Tipra Motha, which played a key role in the BJP’s victory. We want the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre to assume office shortly to implement the agreement signed with the party for the benefit of Tiprasa (indigenous) people”, said Tipra Motha leader Animesh Debbarma, who is the forest minister.
The tripartite agreement signed on March 2 in the presence of Union home minister Amit Shah agreed to amicably resolve all issues of the indigenous people of Tripura related to history, land and political rights, economic development, identity, culture and language, according to an official statement.
The CPM, which ruled the northeastern state for 25 years till 2018 before being dethroned by a BJP-led alliance, used to hold a considerable sway in the state’s tribal belt. However, the Tipra Motha has eaten into the vote share of the Left party.
Soon after the party was formed by Pradyot Kishore Debbarma, a former royal scion of the state, the Tipra Motha was voted to power in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) in 2021.
The TTAADC areas constitute two-thirds of the state’s geographic area and are home to the tribals, who form one-third of the state’s estimated 40 lakh population.
