Agartala: The return of the Bharatiya Janata Party to power in the 2023 elections did not surprise many people. However, at least for those outside Tripura, the rise of TIPRA Motha was a revelation. The party, which started as a social movement and did not even exist until 2019, won 12 of the 20 tribal seats, emerging as the principal opposition party, thanks largely to the amazing efforts of party chairman Pradyot Kishore Debbarma.
Weeks before the 2023 elections, the royal scion had announced that he would be vacating his post as party chairman after the elections, and true to his word, Debbarma kept his promise.
But things do not appear to be as smooth as many predicted. After Debbarma resigned from the post of chairman, the post itself was abolished. Septuagenarian Bijay Kumar Hranghkwal, the rebel-turned-politician, took over as the chief of TIPRA Motha.
The event sent shockwaves down the party hierarchy as Debbarman had been the only strong pillar surrounding whom the party’s decision-making process used to revolve around.
In response, on July 17, a day after he left the crucial post, Debbarma clarified that he would remain in politics and work for the party as an ordinary member.
Debbarman is also an elected member of the Tripura Tribal District Council, where the party is in power.
This is, of course, not the first time Debbarma has caused a stir with his resignation. Debbarman’s political career has been marred with controversies, and often, he was branded as a “parochial” leader who only speaks about a particular sect.
Even when Debbarman was in Congress during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he rebuilt the grand old party from scratch. From a little less than two per cent of the vote share in 2018, the Congress party managed to bag 26 per cent of total votes with a leading position in 11 assembly constituencies.
That, combined with TIPRA Motha’s sensational rise, shows why Debbarman is seen as a leader who truly leads organisations.
‘When he leaves, things move’
The chronology of Debbarman’s political career makes one thing clear: Whenever he takes two steps backward, it indicates him thinking something new.
“Same thing happened when he left the Congress party. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he was no less than a messiah for the Congress party that had zero presence in the state assembly. When the NRC-CAA debate stirred the North East region, and Debbarman spoke in favour of the NRC in Tripura challenging the AICC’s stand, he had no other option but to quit the party post. Many people thought it was the end of his political career, but he struck back with a bang. I think his decision of quitting the party is also for something new,” a close associate of Debbarman who wished not to be named told EastMojo.
After he quit Congress, Debbarman led a big campaign in the tribal-dominated areas of the state and ultimately formed TIPRA, first as an NGO.
The outfit worked hard in the rural areas and during the Covid-19 pandemic, his efforts left a strong impression on people. TIPRA emerged from the pandemic as an organization that cared for people. The rest is known to all: a month before the 2021 TTAADC elections–almost a year after the term of the Left-led council expired–the party emerged with 18 of the 28 seats, securing a government.
According to political watchers, Debbarman is a leader who initially had wide acceptance in both Bengali and Tribal populations. But his political stand on certain issues turned him into a leader seen as working for one community and consequently, his influence on the majority Bengali community faded away. Despite that, his creation—the TIPRA Motha—is an unavoidable part of Tripura politics today.
After the party’s debut in the assembly polls, Debbarman faced harsh criticism from the rest of the opposition parties, particularly Left and Congress for helping the BJP retain power.
His reaction to the criticism was mixed. Debbarman’s slogan of “Greater Tipraland”, a separate state for the tribal people of the state seems to have run out of steam and his efforts to get a “constitutional solution” for the tribal also saw no response.
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His meetings with Union Minister Amit Shah and other senior officials of the Home Department at Agartala and New Delhi were touted to be successful, but nothing worked out in reality.
Apart from that, he had also recognised the lurking threats of breaking his party. In his last speech as the Chairman of the party, Debbarman said, “People are being lured to join a political party under the pretext of jobs, MGNREGA works and other government benefits.” For now, Debbarma is clear that if the party intends to stick to its promises and move forward, it will do so without his active leadership. However, he will remain a pivotal figure in the party.
Also Read | One man, one post: Tripura BJP general secretary quits party post