Agartala: After months of friction and political sparring, the ruling BJP and TIPRA Motha appear set to join hands for the April 12 elections to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.TIPRA Motha MLA Ranjit Debbarma said on Thursday that the party plans to ally with the BJP for the ADC polls, marking a departure from its earlier hardline position on political dominance in the hills.TIPRA Motha is already a partner in the Manik Saha-led coalition govt in Tripura and currently controls the tribal council. Debbarma said party chief Pradyot Kishore Debbarman, who is in Delhi, is holding talks with BJP leaders to finalise seat sharing.He said a joint contest in the tribal council elections would help both parties.The ADC elections for 28 seats will be held on April 12, with counting on April 17. The council has 30 members, including two nominated by the Governor.Debbarma said the party chief would soon meet the BJP’s top leadership to settle seat allocation.In the 2021 ADC elections, TIPRA Motha won 18 seats, while the BJP and its ally, the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura, were reduced to nine.On recent tensions between the two parties, Debbarma said, “Such occurrences are commonplace in politics. Struggles and alliances are inherent to the political landscape. We firmly believe that contesting the elections jointly is imperative to thwart the influence of the communists.”
