"Will Perform Role Of Constructive Opposition, But...": Tripura Ex-Royal

The Tipra Motha which emerged as the second-largest party after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Tripura assembly election results on Thursday, has said that it would perform the role of a "constructive opposition", but not be with the CPM or Congress.

Tipra Motha chairman Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma, while talking to ANI said that the party could sit independently, but not with Congress or the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

"We are the second largest party so we will sit in the constructive opposition but will not sit with CPM or Congress. We can sit independently. We will help the government whenever they need," Debbarma said.

The Tipra Motha Party is led by Pradoyt Kishore Manikya Debbarma, a scion of the erstwhile Tripura royal family.

Debbarma who resigned as the Tripura Congress President to form the extra-political Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA) in 2019 said that AICC needs to introspect about why the party leaders are quitting.

In February 2021, TIPRA was transformed into a political outfit--the TIPRA Motha party.

"AICC needs to introspect why people like Pradyot leave the party. Congress thought back then that I was of no use, maybe Congress made a mistake somewhere," he further said.

With the declaration of results for the Tripura Assembly polls on Thursday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is poised to form the government in Tripura again by winning a comfortable majority.

According to the Election Commission of India, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 32 seats with a vote share of around 39 per cent. Tipra Motha Party came second by winning 13 seats. Communist Party of India (Marxist) got 11 seats while Congress bagged three seats. The Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) managed to open its account by winning one seat.

The CPI(M) and the Congress, arch rivals in Kerala, came together in the Northeast this time in a bid to oust the BJP from power. The combined vote shares of CPI(M) and Congress remained around 33 per cent.

Chief Minister Manik Saha defeated Congress' Asish Kumar Saha from the Town Bordowali seat by a margin of 1,257 votes. In the 60-member Tripura assembly, the majority mark is 31.

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