No joint BJP-TIPRA Motha campaign in Tripura village polls

CORRESPONDENT

AGARTALA: Leaders of the BJP and TIPRA Motha tried their best to forge an alliance for the village committee elections in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council. Despite holding a series of meetings, the alliance failed to materialise on the ground, as candidates from both parties are contesting almost all seats going to polls on September 28. Grassroots leaders have already started campaigning for their respective candidates, often attacking each other openly, with no sign of a joint campaign by the alliance partners.

State leaders from both parties admitted their failure to implement the alliance at the grassroots level, even though the top leaders share goodwill. They attribute the failure to a shortage of time. "The decision for the alliance was finalised only two days before the last date for withdrawal, so it was not possible to send the message to every corner of the state and convince the workers," said a senior BJP leader. He added that efforts are still underway to hold a few joint meetings at the state level.

Meanwhile, reports from places like Chawmanu, Mungiakami, Karbook, and several other locations indicate there is no sign of an alliance, and neither party is concerned about joint campaigning. BJP leader and Minister Bikash Debbarma personally led a meeting at Mungiakami, where he criticised TIPRA Motha for the backwardness of tribals. On the other hand, a former MDC of TIPRA Motha led a rally and held a meeting at Chawmanu, urging people not to allow the BJP into the hilly regions of Tripura. In Karbook, TIPRA Motha accused the BJP of distributing money and raised the slogan, "Taka Dele Nea Ne, Anarash Chinne Vote De" (if they give money, take it, but vote for Pineapple, the symbol of TIPRA Motha).

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