Tripura Election: TIPRA Motha factor explained - flash in the pan, or emerging voice of tribals?

It's the first electoral battle of 2023, with one year to go for the Lok Sabha elections. And even though established forces like BJP, Congress, and the Left Front are facing-off in the Tripura elections, a lot of attention is also directed towards a newcomer.

The Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance, or TIPRA Motha, was founded in 2021 by a member of the erstwhile royal family and former Congress leader, Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma. The same year, the outfit won the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) elections, defeating the BJP and the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT).

In the Assembly elections, the TIPRA Motha is contesting on 42 of the 60 seats, with tribal communities as its main constituency, and a promise of pushing for creation of a separate state of Greater Tipraland for indigenous groups. But the party is mainly expected to perform well on 20 tribal-dominated seats.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has claimed that the TIPRA Motha has a secret understanding with the Congress-Left alliance to bring back Communist rule in the state. Meanwhile, there is also speculation that the party may end up hurting chances of the Opposition alliance because it is contesting on even non-tribal-dominated seats.

Even though the TIPRA Motha has said that it will only ally with a party if it supports the Greater Tipraland promise, many believe that the best-case scenario for the outfit is its emergence as a kingmaker in the Assembly elections.