Tripura: Ahead of polls, exodus of MLAs from BJP’s ally IPFT continues

Ahead of assembly polls in Tripura, an exodus of MLAs from BJP’s ally Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) continues as former minister Mevar Kumar Jamatia resigned from state assembly on Tuesday.

Tripura will go to assembly polls early next year. Mevar Kumar Jamatia, who had been the Forest and Tribal Welfare Minister in BJP-IPFT government, immediately after submitting his resignation letter to assembly Speaker Ratan Chakraborty and from the party said that he would decide in a day or two about his next course of action.

Jamatia is likely to join tribal based party Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA), headed by former royal scion Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barman or the ruling BJP.


There has been division in the IPFT and Jamatia’s wife Gita Debbarma joined the TIPRA earlier. Jamatia was elected from Asharambari Assembly constituency in Khowai district in the 2018 polls.

He is the third IPFT MLA to quit the Assembly since last year., The IPFT's strength was reduced to five from eight in the state assembly. He is the seventh MLA of the BJP-IPFT ruling alliance to quit.

IPFT is staring at a split. A section of the party is gravitating towards Tipra. The majority of IPFT MLAs and leaders have been opposing its president and Revenue Minister N C Debbarma for his proximity with BJP.

IPFT MLA Dhananjoy Tripura accompanied by TIPRA supremo Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barman, submitted his resignation letter to Speaker Ratan Chakraborty last month. Recently BJP MLA Burba Mohan Tripura resigned from the assembly and joined TIPRA.

Several MLA have resigned. Ashis Das, Sudip Roy Barman and Ashis Kumar Saha quit the party and the assembly membership following open differences with former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb.

Das joined Trinamool Congress last year and quit the party in May this year while Roy Barman, also a former BJP Minister, and Saha joined the Congress in February this year. Roy Barman was re-elected to the state assembly for sixth times in the by-election in June on Congress ticket.

The BJP along with ally Indigenous People's Front of Tripura routed the Left Front in Tripura in 2018. In the 60-member Tripura assembly, BJP won 36 seats and IPFT eight while the CPIM, secured 16 seats.