Tripura Polls 2023, A Huge Challenge For BJP?

Tripura Polls 2023_The sculptures of Khudiram Bose and Surya Sen, two Bengali revolutionaries who opposed the British Raj, stand on each side of the entry of the Ujjayanta Palace, the former residence of the Manikya dynasty that Rabindranath Tagore gave its name.

A stadium named after Swami Vivekananda, a Bengali Hindu spiritual leader and philosopher who lived in the late 19th century, is located behind the palace, which was constructed in 1901. This stadium is the typical location for large political gatherings in Agartala.

“These requirements try to erase our history. Even the names of hills and rivers have been changed to Bengali, not simply the names of landmarks. Do we still have any place here? enquires Dusanta Debbarma, a 20-year-old student aiming to graduate from a city-based private institution.

Tripura Polls 2023

Ajit Debbarma, a friend of Dusanta, is quoted as saying, “The migration has caused us to lose not just our land but also our culture and language. This can’t continue. A three-cornered fight in the state between the ruling BJP, the CPI(M)-Congress, and the tribal TIPRA Motha has been set in motion with less than 48 hours until the Assembly elections as the campaign dust has settled in Tripura. This is because deep-seated concerns about cultural imposition, combined with underdevelopment in the hills, have led to deep-seated anxieties. 20 seats in the Tripura Assembly’s 60 members are set aside for Scheduled Tribes.

Invoking “one final struggle” for their rights, TIPRA Motha chairman and royal scion Pradyot Debbarma spoke to a crowd during a rally in the Charilam (ST) constituency throughout the day.

“This is my final political address ever. Here, I put an end to my political career. However, I won’t stop working until your demand (for Greater Tipraland) is met. However, I won’t be giving speeches or asking for votes any more,” Debbarma declared, putting many in the audience in tears.

People in his hamlet have historically backed the BJP and CPI, according to Dhananjoy Tripura, owner of a grocery store on the route that runs from Agartala to the southern town of Udaipur, but “there is no reason for us to support these parties now.” Because our bubagra (King or Pradyot Debbarma) won’t give in, he claims, “The TIPRA Motha deserves a chance.”

Although a sizable portion of the tribal population seems to have been inspired by the promise of a distinct ethnic homeland and rallied behind the Motha, the BJP, after its attempts to forge an alliance with the Motha failed, dismissed the idea as unrealistic and, in the final stretch, went after the party. Union Home Minister Amit Shah charged Debbarma with collaborating with communists in his address.

All parties were reluctant to give the Mothra the formal assurance she requested for Greater Tipraland, but the party eventually changed its position. Debbarma stated in an interview with The Indian Express on Monday that Greater Tipraland does not necessarily need to be a distinct state and that a “political separation” might be accomplished even without a geographical split.

The Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), which physically encompasses 70% of the state, is where you can see why the amended attitude is justified.

Sukumar Debbarma, a supporter of TIPRA Motha in the mostly tribal Bagma seat, claims that Greater Tipraland would not result in Tripura’s secession. What does it then represent? It will assist in obtaining justice. The farmer insisted: “We are not against the Bengalis or any other ethnicity.

The TTAADC, which the Motha grabbed in 2021 at the start of its ascension, today has very little autonomy, he continues. The tribal council needs additional authority, according to Debbarma.

Debbarma has also suggested that, in the event of a “fractured mandate” on March 2, the counting day, he would make contact with other groups, including the Left Front-Congress alliance.

As the CPI(M) campaign came to an end on Tuesday, its state president Jiten Choudhary stated there was “no problem” with such a setup. Choudhary is seen to be the potential CM should the combination win, also since no veteran Congress member turned up to share the Left’s load.

If the Opposition camp went to night feeling hopeful, the BJP left enough hints to show that it considered the Motha as the actual threat. Even though the tribal party’s emergence was seen as “more hype than substance” by the party, its platform contained a number of promises for the tribals.

“Tripura has 19 ethnic groupings,” a BJP leader stated. The Tripuris and Jamatias, among others, are not as enthusiastic about the TIPRA Motha as the Debbarman community is. Rebati Tripura, our MP, is one of our powerful leaders, and Tripuris are supporting her.

The BJP leader went on to say that the Motha could only have taken the TTAADC because of their own “miscalculation.” “We provided the IPFT with far too many seats. Ten of the 12 seats that the BJP ran for and won were independent candidates we supported, he noted. At least four persons were hurt in a scuffle between TIPRA Motha and BJP supporters on Tuesday near the location of Debbarma’s gathering.

Tripura Polls 2023 Date

Poll	Tripura	Meghalaya And Nagaland
Notification Issue Date	21 Jan 2023, Saturday	31 Jan 2023 Tuesday
Nominations Last Date	30 Jan 2023 Mon	07 February 2023 Tue
Nominations Scruitney last Date	31 January 2023 Tue	08 February 2023 Wed
Candidatures Withdrawl Last Date	2 February 2023 Thu	10 February 2023 Fri
Polling Date	16 February 2023 Thu	27 February 2023 Mon
Counting Date	2 March 2023 Thu	2 March 2023 Thu
Election Complete Date	4 March 2023 Sat	4 March 2023 Sat