By Kavita Mistry 
New Delhi: Over the past few weeks, the ruling BJP in Tripura has been rocked by a series of controversies that have not only put its ties with tribal ally Tipra Motha under tremendous strain, but also laid bare deep divisions between rival factions within the party, both loyal to and those ranged against Chief Minister Manik Saha.
The political turmoil has also reignited concerns about deepening ethnic fault lines in the state after a lull in violence over the last decade and a half, first during the Left Front government and then under the BJP.
Tensions between the BJP and the Tipra Motha came to a head after workers of the BJP were allegedly beaten up by members of the tribal ally on 22 October in a west Tripura district. Tipra Motha is a key ally in the ruling coalition with 13 MLAs in the 60-member state assembly.
A day after the clashes, the situation worsened as members of a newly-founded civil society forum ‘Tiprasa Civil Society’ sought to enforce a strike in a south Tripura market demanding action against illegal migrants. The forum, led by Tipra Motha MLA and former militant commander Ranjit Debbarma, also demanded implementation of an agreement that the Tipra Motha had signed with the Centre and the state government in 2024 concerning the protection of indigenous rights.
The supporters of the strike attacked shopkeepers and locals, causing injuries to several people including the local superintendent of police, the sub-divisional police officer, and the block development officer among others. While CM Saha squarely blamed the Tipra Motha for both the incidents, Debbarma rejected the allegation.
In the recent months, Tipra Motha, led by Pradyot Debbarman, the head of Tripura’s erstwhile royal family, has been threatening to exit the alliance over the alleged non-execution of the agreement. Speaking to reporters in Agartala on Friday, Saha asserted that the administration would not tolerate such incidents.
The BJP draws its support primarily from the Bengali Hindus, while the demographic changes and anxieties triggered by waves of migration, which have reduced Tripura’s indigenous population to an ethnic minority, forms the bedrock of Tipra Motha’s politics.
Asked whether the BJP’s allies were trying to pressure the party through such acts, Saha said the “conspiracies” would not succeed and that “the pressure will be diminished in due course of time. No one is above the law.” Responding to a question on whether discord within the BJP could also be driving these developments, he suggested it could be one of the factors.
With 32 MLAs, just above the halfway mark, the BJP’s alliance with Tipra Motha remains crucial for the Manik Saha government’s stability.
Two days later, at a public event in Agartala, Saha made the party infighting more evident, taking veiled swipe at his predecessor, now the Lok Sabha MP for West Tripura, Biplab Deb, who was removed as chief minister in May 2022 for reasons that have not been publicly disclosed.
Commenting on Tripura’s “improved law and order situation,” Saha said that previously, troublemakers were not only given a free hand by their ‘dada,’ or political patrons, but the police were also prevented from acting against them. “We never entertained such things, particularly over the last four years,” he added.
The BJP came to power in Tripura in 2018, dislodging the Left Front which had been governing uninterruptedly since 1993. Deb was made the CM, a post he held till May 2022, when Saha, who was serving as a Rajya Sabha MP, replaced him.
The state BJP landed in more trouble after Pratima Bhowmik, who served as a Union Minister of State in the previous Modi government, was prevented Sunday from visiting the south Tripura spot where violence broke out during the strike called by the Tiprasa Civil Society.
A furious Bhowmik lashed out at the police officers who stopped her vehicle, asking why they had failed to prevent violence and protect people during the shutdown. She claimed that the political executive had become subordinate to the bureaucracy and questioned the government’s overall effectiveness.
The outburst came days after Tafajjal Hossain, the lone Muslim BJP MLA in the state, targeted her and Deb at an event in the presence of BJP state chief and Rajya Sabha MP Rajib Bhattacharjee. Hossain, while praising Saha and Bhattacharjee, criticised Deb and Bhowmik, questioning their commitment to the public.
Earlier this year, infighting among the leaders had also forced the BJP central leadership to put on hold the internal election to pick a new president for the Tripura unit.
These developments have added discomfort to the state BJP, which was already under fire from the opposition over cabinet minister Sudhangshu Das’s remarks. In an interview, Das said that it is an “open secret” that the “source” of income of politicians is essentially commissions paid by contractors executing government projects.
The Opposition lambasted the BJP, saying Das had tacitly acknowledged the prevalence of systemic corruption under the party’s rule. The Congress filed a police complaint Saturday, demanding that a case be registered against Das under the Prevention of Corruption Act and relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Das has threatened legal action against the social media outlet, which had aired the interview, accusing it of portraying his remarks out of context.
(Edited by Vidhi Bhutra)
Also read: Vocal elsewhere but silent in Tripura, BJP in a bind over ally TIPRA Motha’s demand for SIR