Tipra Motha Sweeps ADC Polls in Tripura, Opposition Blames CM, Emotional Voting and BJP Infighting

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, April 18, 2026

In a decisive outcome of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (ADC) elections, the Tipra Motha Party secured a landslide victory, winning 24 out of 28 seats in the tribal areas. The results have triggered sharp political reactions across parties, with opposition leaders questioning both the political narrative and the factors that shaped the mandate.

Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barma, founder of the Tipra Motha Party, described the victory as a reflection of the people’s will rather than a personal achievement. Speaking in Agartala, he emphasized that the result demonstrated how even a relatively small regional party could defeat larger political forces if it remained committed to indigenous rights and the future of the next generation.

However, the opposition Communist Party of India (Marxist) State secretary Jitendra Chaudhury expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome. Shri Chaudhury stated that the election results did not reflect the ground realities of the ADC areas. He squarely blamed Chief Minister Manik Saha, alleging that his political positioning led to an emotional consolidation of tribal voters in favour of Tipra Motha.

Chaudhury argued that despite securing fewer votes, CPI-M showed signs of revival in several constituencies, with candidates coming close to victory margins in multiple seats. He also claimed that Tipra Motha’s governance over the past five years lacked significant developmental achievements and that the party relied heavily on emotional appeal rather than performance.

At the same time, he refrained from alleging electoral malpractice, stating that it would not be appropriate to claim that the results were forcibly engineered. However, he raised concerns about what he described as administrative irregularities in the ADC and accused the ruling establishment of creating conditions that masked these issues.

From the Congress camp, Ashish Kumar Saha termed the outcome as a clear expression of tribal sentiment. He said the results reaffirmed that indigenous communities remain emotionally connected to Tipra Motha. He further stressed that the Congress would continue its struggle for tribal welfare and called upon all political parties to ensure peace and stability in the post-election period.

Meanwhile, senior Congress Leader Sudip Roy Barman attributed the BJP’s poor performance in the hills to internal factionalism. According to him, infighting within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), along with what he described as the Chief Minister’s non-political and personal attack-driven approach, contributed significantly to the outcome.

Roy Barman argued that such factors created an emotional wave among tribal voters in favour of Tipra Motha leadership, effectively wiping out BJP’s presence in the ADC areas. However, he noted that efforts to communicate development initiatives to tribal communities had seen partial success.

The results have once again highlighted the growing influence of identity-based politics in Tripura’s tribal belt. Opposition leaders across parties pointed out that emotional narratives, financial influence, and personality-driven campaigns are increasingly overshadowing ideological politics and structured policy agendas, not only in the state but also in the broader national political landscape.

As Tripura moves forward, all parties have emphasized the need to maintain peace, ensure effective governance in the ADC, and address the aspirations of indigenous communities that played a decisive role in shaping this electoral verdict.

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