IPFT General Secretary Swapan Debbarma Attacked By Tipra Motha, Raises Fresh Questions Over BJP–Tipra Motha–IPFT Alliance
By Our Correspondent
Agartala, September 8, 2026
The alleged physical attack on Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) General Secretary Swapan Debbarma at Hezamara has triggered sharp condemnation and raised fresh concerns over the growing tensions among grassroots workers of the BJP–Tipra Motha–IPFT alliance ahead of the Village Council General Election.
According to the statement issued by the IPFT leader and Minister Sukhlacharn Noatia, Debbarma was allegedly targeted and beaten by supporters of the Tipra Motha Party while he was travelling towards Khowai village through the Hezamara area. The party described the incident as brutal and strongly condemned the alleged attack.
The incident assumes particular political significance because the BJP, Tipra Motha and IPFT are contesting the Village Council General Election together as an alliance. The IPFT leadership argued that an alleged attack on one of its senior leaders by workers of an alliance partner directly undermines the spirit of the political understanding reached among the three parties.
The IPFT statement stressed that political violence has no place in a democratic electoral process and appealed to party workers and supporters across the state to maintain peace and restraint. It also urged all sides to respect the alliance arrangement and ensure that the upcoming elections are conducted in a peaceful and democratic atmosphere.
The incident has also brought to the forefront a deeper question surrounding the practical functioning of the alliance at the grassroots level. While the leaderships of the three parties have arrived at an electoral understanding, political observers have pointed out that their workers have historically been positioned against one another in several areas of Tripura's tribal belt.
A political interpretation accompanying the condemnation argues that the alliance was negotiated at the leadership level, but grassroots workers may find it difficult to immediately change political perceptions that have developed over years.
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