Tripura tribal party launches drive to restore lost ground

FROM A CORRESPONDENT

AGARTALA, Sept 12: The Indigenous tiolist Party of Tripura is going to undertake a series of agitation programme with an aim to restore its prime position in the tribal politics of the State. A fil decision in this regard will be taken in the meeting of the party’s central executives to be held on September 13 at Agartala.

The INPT which once domited the opposition tribal politics in the state but lost much of its ground after the formation of the Indigenous Peoples’ Front of Twipra (IPFT) and raised the demand for a  separate state comprising the areas of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.

“The demand is very lucrative and it attracted the younger generations of the tribals like anything”, admitted Jagadish Debbarma, general secretary of the INPT.

However, the older generation is still remained with INPT.

It is learnt that the main task of the INPT’s agitation program will be to convince the tribal youths about the futility of the separate state demand and to bring them back to senses.

The meeting also will discuss about possible alliance in the 2018 assembly election to give a formidable fight against the ruling Left Front led by CPI (M). Though the party is keeping its door

open, it is learnt that two line of thinking is prevailing in the party – one favouring the Trimool  Congress and the other BJP.

According to sources most of the leaders are tilted towards Mamata Banerjee but many of them have reservation about its local leadership.

“Our previous experience of working with this leadership when  they were in Congress was not good,” said an important functiory of the party.

One more attempt is also afoot to explore the possibility of bringing back both the tribal based political parties, the INPT and the IPFT, closer. However, if this issue will figure in the INPT executive meeting is not yet clear.