Agartala, 1st September 2026 : With the upcoming Village Committee elections in Tripura approaching, BJP national general secretary (organisation) B.L. Santosh arrived in the state on Tuesday as the party stepped up efforts to finalise an electoral alliance with Tipra Motha.
Santosh is on a two-day visit to Tripura and is accompanied by the party’s Northeast coordinator Sambit Patra, along with BJP leaders Ravindra Raju and Rajdeep Roy. Chief Minister Prof. Dr. Manik Saha welcomed the central leaders at the State Guest House near Khajurbagan in Agartala.
The visit assumes significance as the BJP and Tipra Motha have held several rounds of discussions in New Delhi over a possible alliance for the Village Committee elections, but no final decision has yet been reached.
On Monday, Chief Minister Manik Saha had said that discussions with Tipra Motha over an alliance were still underway. He expressed hope that the BJP would contest the upcoming elections along with its alliance partners, while indicating that the final structure and details of the alliance would become clear after the electoral process is finalised.
Meanwhile, Tipra Motha founder and former supremo Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma on Monday outlined the party’s position on a possible alliance with the BJP during a Facebook Live session. He said Tipra Motha would not enter into an electoral understanding with any party unless the constitutional rights and safeguards promised to the indigenous people under the Tiprasa Accord were implemented.
A tripartite agreement was signed in 2022 between the Centre, the Tripura government and Tipra Motha aimed at the overall development of the indigenous population. Issues relating to the constitutional rights of the Tiprasa people have remained one of the key demands of Tipra Motha under the agreement.
Although the alliance equation between the BJP and Tipra Motha remains uncertain ahead of the Village Committee elections, the visit of the BJP’s central leadership is expected to provide fresh momentum to the ongoing negotiations, political observers said.
