Agartala, April 9 Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha stated on Thursday that the Tipra Motha Party's defeat in the upcoming tribal council elections is "inevitable" as the outfit has "failed" to serve the people.
Addressing an election rally in Kalacherra, South Tripura district, Saha accused Tipra Motha founder Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma of playing communal cards to woo innocent tribal voters.
The Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), which comprises two-thirds of the northeastern state's geographical area, will go to the polls on April 12.
"The Tipra Motha founder is saying he has been fighting to protect the interests of tribal people in the northeastern state. Sometimes he claims that he has no problem with the BJP but has differences with the chief minister. It sounds awkward because the chief minister is part of the BJP," Saha said.
He said the BJP leadership had decided to contest all 28 seats of the tribal council to prevent "blackmail" by the regional parties.
"The Tipra Motha's defeat in the tribal council election is inevitable as the party has failed to serve the people during the past five years", he said, adding that "political history suggests the regional parties don't survive in the northeastern state for a long time".
The chief minister said the BJP started working to revive the party organisation in the region three months before the announcement of the elections.
"We are confident of winning the elections with a huge margin this time", he said.
In the 2021 polls, the Tipra Motha formed the council by winning 19 of 30 seats, and the BJP bagged nine seats.
Two regional parties - Tipra Motha and Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) - which are part of the BJP-led coalition government at the state level, are contesting the tribal council elections separately.
