Reported by: Mrinal Banik
Agartala: Filing of nomination papers for the Tripura Village Committee elections gained pace across the state after the two major ruling allies, BJP and Tipra Motha, had in principle reached a consensus on the seats both parties were contesting.
An agreement was reached following a marathon meeting in Agartala that continued into the early hours of Monday.
The meeting began at a city hotel around 7 pm on Sunday and concluded at about 3 am on Monday. Senior leaders of both parties participated in the discussions on the distribution of seats ahead of the September 28 elections.
From the Tipra Motha side, TTAADC Chief Executive Member Runiel Debbarma, former CEM PC Jamatia, Minister of State for Industries and Commerce Brishaketu Debbarma, MLA Ranjita Debbarma and MLA Biswajit Kalai were present.
The BJP delegation was led by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ratan Lal Nath, with ministers Tinku Roy and Sushanta Chowdhury also attending the meeting. BJP state General Secretary Bipin Debbarma was also there.
Nath said the two parties had completed discussions on seat-sharing. “The leadership of the BJP and Tipra Motha had earlier met in Delhi with Chief Minister Manik Saha and Tipra Motha chief Pradyot Kishore Debbarman in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss the alliance and joint participation in the VC elections. The details of the seat-sharing arrangement would be made public later,” he said.
Tipra Motha MLA Ranjita Debbarma also said the discussions had been completed and the arrangement finalised.
According to sources familiar with Sunday’s discussions, the BJP had sought representation in every block on a proportional basis. The detailed distribution of seats was expected to be formally announced on Monday.
The seat-sharing talks came against the backdrop of growing debate within Tipra Motha over its decision to contest the local body elections in alliance with the BJP.
In a social media livestream on Sunday, Tipra Motha founder Pradyot Kishore Debbarman said he was tired of politics and was considering stepping back from active political life. He said his primary demand remained the protection and implementation of the rights sought by his party.
Referring to the alliance, Debbarman said joining an alliance could be “counter-productive” for Tipra Motha from a purely political perspective, but argued that the implementation of the accord was more important than electoral gains.
He said the party could win a large number of Village Committees but questioned the purpose of such a victory without implementation of the accord.
Debbarman also said Chief Minister Manik Saha had for the first time spoken about implementing the accord in a time-bound manner and that the assurance should be respected.
He further rejected speculation that the seat-sharing arrangement had been finalised in exchange for money, saying rumours to that effect had circulated on social media following the recent accord-related meeting.
The detailed seat-sharing formula was yet to be formally announced at the time of reporting.
The process of filing nominations is slated to end on September 8. The scrutiny of the papers shall be conducted on September 8, and the last date for withdrawal is scheduled for September 11.