Himanta Biswa Sarma meets Amit Shah, BJP Tripura list to be out soon

GUWAHATI: The North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) convener and Assam CM, Himanta Biswa Sarma, on Sunday met Union home minister Amit Shah at his official residence in New Delhi.
Party insiders said the meeting was held to finalise the list of candidates for the Tripura assembly election, even as BJP’s ally in the state, the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) has inched closer to Tipra Motha for a possible merger.
“The meeting lasted for almost an one hour from 5 pm. It was on the Tripura election and can be called very important in view of the declaration of the list of BJP candidates for the Tripura polls, which is most likely this week,” said the source.
BJP’s coordinator for northeast affairs, Sambit Patra, and in-charge for Tripura state election, Mahesh Sharma, were also present in the meeting.
Before meeting Shah, Patra and Mahesh Sharma had one round of meeting with the Assam CM.
Another source added that Shah was apprised about the seat- sharing agreement with the allies, even as uncertainty prevails over whether the alliance of the BJP and IPFT will continue. The source nevertheless said BJP has plans to go with parties of indigenous tribes and communities like it has done in Assam.
Meanwhile, IPFT is believed to have expedited talks with Tipra Motha, another regional party headed by royal scion Pradyot Manikya Debbarman, for a likely merger of the two ahead of the polls.
Both the regional parties are demanding a separate Tipraland state.
“Met the IPFT leadership yesterday and asked them to consider becoming one party ! Time is short and I hope they do the right thing,” Pradyot tweeted on Sunday noon.
Pradyot approached the IPFT to fight the upcoming election together with a hope to fulfil the long-cherished dream of having a separate state, Greater Tipraland.