The upstart and the ally: Dual concern for IPFT in Tripura

The Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT), which held a two-day central conference on April 2 and 3, got a new chief as 79-year-old Narendra Chandra Debbarma made way for his protégé and state minister Mevar Kumar Jamatia. With Debbarma having been at the centre stage of the state’s tribal politics for five decades, the task is cut out for the 56-year-old IPFT chief.

Debbarma had a direct and indirect role in major tribal parties such as the Tripura Upajati Juba Samiti, the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra, and the National Socialist Party of Tripura. In 2009, he founded the IPFT that took the state by storm in the 2018 Assembly elections with its demand for Tipraland. The party won eight seats and helped the BJP end 25 years of Left Front rule.

But the veteran leader decided to step down because of age-related ailments. “NC Debbarma is a veteran leader and we hoped to get his leadership for some more time,” IPFT spokesperson Mangal Debbarma told The Indian Express. “But he is not keeping well, owing to which he stepped back from his position. But he is still heading our advisory panel and we shall work under his guidance. We are confident Mevar Kumar Jamatia will work to strengthen the party.”

While the party is hoping for its Tipraland demand — a separate state for tribals — to help it fetch votes in next year’s state elections, it is facing a stiff challenge from royal family scion Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma’s party TIPRA Motha that came into existence last year and swept the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) elections on the back of its Greater Tipraland demand.

Greater Tipraland is an extension of the IPFT’s demand. It seeks not only a separate state for tribal people in Tripura but also a development council to support the “Tiprasa” or Tripuri ethnic group in other states such as Assam and Mizoram, and the indigenous people living in places such as Bandarban, Chittagong and Khagrachari in Bangladesh and areas bordering the neighbouring country.

In the past few weeks, Pradyot has been travelling through tribal areas in the state’s hills. His events have drawn an impressive turnout even in far-flung tribal hamlets such as Ampi, Mandwi, and Chawmanu.

But questions about Greater Tipraland’s feasibility remain. The IPFT’s Mangal Debbarma claimed that his party’s statehood demand was “clear and logical” and there was a map of the proposed state, while the others’ demands were “vague and impractical”.

But not just the TIPRA Motha, the BJP itself is looking to make inroads in tribal areas instead of piggybacking on the IPFT. Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb recently said he was confident of the BJP winning all 60 seats in the 2023 state elections, while Union minister Pratima Bhoumik said after the party’s victory in Uttar Pradesh last month that the BJP would win more than 50 constituencies in Tripura.

The BJP has in its ranks a veteran tribal leader such as Rampada Jamatia and a younger face such as Rebati Tripura, who is the Lok Sabha MP from Tripura East. Last month, it added former senior IPFT leader Patal Kanya Jamatia to the party fold.

While political analyst Sekhar Dutta said Patal’s presence might be detrimental to the BJP’s poll prospects — she has previously spoken in favour of revising the National Register of Citizens with 1948 as the cut-off year, and opposed the Citizenship Amendment Act — it could also mean that the IPFT would soon have to choose between the BJP and the TIPRA Motha.

Another political observer, who did not wish to be named, said BJP might be looking at strengthening its tribal support base after the IPFT’s poor performance in the last panchayat polls, the Lok Sabha elections, and the TTAADC polls. Mevar, he added, was a proven leader but would need more time to reorganise his party and settle down in his new role.

The new IPFT chief is also focusing on rebuilding the party. “It is the right time to rejuvenate the party organisation and strengthen the party’s support base,” said Mevar Kumar Jamatia. He added that though “some issues” had cropped up since the TTAADC elections, the party would fix them.

Asked about the future of the ruling alliance, Mangal Debbarma said it was premature to comment on it as both parties were still in government and “share a good relationship”.