This week, the leadership of the Tipraland State Party announced that it will part ways with the Tipra Motha, the main Opposition party of the northeastern state of Tripura. The convenor of TSP, Sridam Debbarma, addressing a press conference, claimed that the future of Motha is uncertain and that’s the reason TSP decided to part ways. He also said that TSP leaders were seldom informed of the activities of the Motha.
The parting of TSP from the alliance shows there are again signs of renewed political activity in Tripura, which in the last five years has seen the decimation of the Left to the quick rise and fall of the Indigenous Front of Tripura, an ally of BJP, and the rise of Tipra Motha. The TSP is a regional party formed in 2015 with the demand to raise the status of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council to Tipraland state. In 2021, the leadership of the party decided to merge the party with Tipra Motha. But now, the leadership has decided to revive the party after being disappointed with Motha’s activities.
Not everything is well within the Motha. A dissent has been brewing within the party for a long time and it is only natural that this surfaced in the near future. One of the main reasons for the dissatisfaction is the party’s confusing stand in the state’s politics after becoming the main Opposition party in the assembly this year. The party first shot to fame in Tripura politics after winning the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council polls in 2021, riding on the slogan of “Greater Tipraland”, a demand which is not feasible given the demographic pattern of the northeastern state. Later, the party kept shifting its goalpost from the demand for a Greater Tipraland to a Constitutional solution for the indigenous people to the demand for an "interlocutor" to look into its demand.
Despite being the main Opposition party with 13 MLAs in the assembly, it failed to function as the main Opposition party. Its continuous flip-flops and soft attitude towards the ruling BJP have only created confusion within the party. In addition to this, Pradyot Debbarma’s resignation as the chairman of the party at its plenary session in July only added to more confusion. This shows how Pradyot, selling the dreams of a "Greater Tipraland" to the common tribals, has run away after failing to deliver.
More importantly, the ADC ruled by Motha has been facing allegations of not being able to solve the problems of the common tribals as the hills continue to face shortages of food, jobs, and drinking water.
Mizoram Polls: ZPM focuses On farmers
Working president of the main Opposition party in Mizoram, the Zoram People’s Movement, K Sapdanga recently said that the party, if elected to power in the assembly elections late this year, would prioritise the interest of the farmers.
Although ZPM emerged as the second largest party by winning eight seats in the last assembly election, the constituencies — barring the Tuirial assembly constituency — won by the party were urban constituencies. The party has been relatively weak in the rural areas. Last time the Mizo National Front came to power after it was able to defeat the Congress in the rural seats.
ZPM, which has been hoping to come to power in the state, knows that winning rural seats is very important. That’s the reason the party leadership is stressing the farmers' interests ahead of the elections. The party also recently forged an alliance with the Hmar People’s Conference, a marginal party of the state having influence on the ethnic Hmar minorities.
Unhappy With BJP In Meghalaya, H Shangpliang Joins NPP
Former Mawsynram MLA H Shangpliang, who quit the BJP recently, joined the ruling National People’s Party this week. He was unhappy with the style of functioning of Ernest Mawrie, the state BJP president. He also accused Mawrie of promoting nepotism. According to reports, the NPP may nominate Shangpliang for the Shillong Lok Sabha seat currently held by Vincent Pala of the Congress.
Shangpliang joined the saffron party after quitting TMC ahead of the state elections. Before joining TMC, he was in Congress. Although the state BJP may deny it, this desertion of Shangpliang is a jolt to the saffron party, which, despite the hype, failed to increase seats and vote share early this year in the assembly polls.
This damage may not hurt the BJP organisationally but is likely to deal significant damage to the party’s image. Shangpliang’s desertion also shows that the short-term strategy of the BJP to get a foothold in the state by inducting leaders from other parties isn’t helping it much.
This desertion also brings out the internal rift within the state leadership again. Just days after Shangpliang’s exit from the saffron party, a section of the BJP's mahila morcha met BJP MLA AL Hek, who is also a minister in the NPP-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government, about the style and functioning of Mawrie. This episode showed that ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the first challenge before the BJP is to set its house in order in the northeastern state.
The author is a political commentator.
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