Tipra Motha to contest in 25-30 seats in next state Assembly elections: Pradyot

Agartala: Tipra Motha Party (TMP) supremo Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma said his party would contest only 25-30 seats in the next state Assembly elections.

In the 2023 Tripura assembly elections, the TMP had contested in 42 seats and had won in 13 constituencies. The state Assembly has 60 seats.

In Tripura, 20 seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs), while tribal voters are a factor in 22 more Assembly segments. The TMP has a strong presence in the tribal areas of the state.

"If we had contested in only 20 Assembly segments, the BJP probably would not have returned to power for the second term in 2023. Now we have realised… In the coming Assembly elections, we will contest in 25-30 seats," Debbarma told the reporters at Kathalia-Mirza constituency of Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) on Thursday.

On being asked about the TMP's main rivals in the TTAADC elections scheduled in April 2026, Debbarma said, "Let's see".

He said, "We will continue to speak for the rights of Tiprasa (Indigenous) people, not against any party. The Congress is nowhere on the ground, while the CPI (M) has got into its old shell, and local BJP leaders are making noise. The entire ground support is with the TMP. Without doing nothing for the indigenous people, they will not get votes in the elections," he said.

On the status of the Tiprasa accord, the TMP chief said, "I have spoken to all (in Delhi), and they have privately said it should have been done. Until it is done, why should we trust anyone."

The TMP had signed an accord with the Centre and the Tripura government in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in September 2024 for the overall development of the indigenous people.