The Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state has decided to merge with regional political party Tipraha Indigeneous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA) Motha on July 2.
This move comes ahead of the assembly elections in the state slated to be held next year.
Addressing a press conference in Agartala on Saturday, IPFT vice-president Jibanjoy Reang said, "After a long discussion, we have decided to merge with TIPRA Motha at a programme in Agartala on July 2 to fulfil the dream of achieving Greater Tipraland."
The TIPRA Motha, headed by royal scion Pradyot Kishore Debbarma, demands a separate state for the indigenous people of Tripura. The party that was formed early last year, swept the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) elections that took place in April 2021, winning 18 of the 28 seats over the 'Greater Tipraland' demand in a direct contest with the ruling BJP-IPFT alliance.
Earlier in March, Royal scion and Chairman of TIPRA Motha Pradyot Kishore Debbarman said that his party would like to fight the electoral battle alone in the forthcoming assembly elections if national parties do not agree to give written commitment for the party's core demand "Greater Tipraland".
Among the 20 reserved seats, the ruling BJP now has 11 indigenous MLAs while its junior ally IPFT has eight. In the rest of the 15 seats, indigenous votes play the deciding factor.
