After Tipra Motha’s village poll victory, Pradyot Kishore Debbarman announces exit from active politics

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, October 6, 2026

Tipra Motha founder Pradyot Kishore Debbarman has announced that he will step away from active politics within a month, days after his party recorded a sweeping victory in Tripura’s Village Committee elections.

In a statement posted on social media on Tuesday, Mr. Debbarman said he had decided to withdraw from active politics after believing that the tribal people of the State had become politically united and were now more aware of how to pursue their constitutional rights.

However, he left open the possibility of a return to politics if he felt that the tribal people were being “cheated” again.

Mr. Debbarma said he would continue to remain involved in issues concerning the interests of both tribal and Bengali communities and would work for social harmony and unity even after leaving active politics.

“I am the grandson of Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore and the son of Maharaja Kirit Bikram Kishore. There is no selfishness or hatred towards any community in our blood,” he said, while explaining his decision to withdraw from electoral politics.

The announcement came soon after the Village Committee election results, in which Tipra Motha emerged as the dominant force in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) areas.

For Mr. Debbarma, the election was significant not merely as an electoral victory but as evidence of the consolidation of tribal political opinion. He congratulated all those who had won the elections and urged them to discharge their responsibilities with honesty.

He said the political circumstances concerning the tribal population had changed considerably since 2017.

“After 2017, everyone has started respecting the tribal people,” he said, adding that his achievement was to have helped unite the community.

Mr. Debbarma urged the tribal people to remain united, saying that a united community would be difficult to deceive or intimidate.

His decision to enter politics, he said, had not been driven by a personal ambition for political office. He had entered public life after witnessing what he described as the repeated denial of dignity and rights to tribal people.

“I never liked politics,” he said, explaining that he had entered the political arena because tribal people were fighting for dignity and were being repeatedly let down.

According to him, the situation has changed. Tribal people have now learnt how to organise themselves and how to press for their rights. This, he suggested, had reduced the need for his continued presence in active politics.

His announcement, however, was accompanied by a clear political caveat.

“If you are cheated again, I will certainly return,” he said.

Mr. Debbarma also used the occasion to remind the Centre and the Tripura Government of commitments made before the Village Committee elections regarding the implementation of the tripartite agreement involving the Centre, the State Government and the tribal political stakeholders.

He said Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha had assured the people before the elections that the agreement would be implemented within a month after the Village Committee elections were completed.

“I hope that this promise will now be implemented,” he said.

The implementation of the agreement, Mr. Debbarma said, should ensure constitutional and other rights for tribal people, including rights relating to language, land, education and socio-economic development.

The demand for implementation of the tripartite agreement has been central to the politics of Tipra Motha, which has sought greater constitutional safeguards and political and administrative rights for the indigenous population of Tripura.

Mr. Debbarma’s decision to withdraw from active politics therefore comes at a politically sensitive juncture. Tipra Motha has consolidated its position through the Village Committee elections, but the party now faces the question of how its political organisation and leadership will evolve in the absence of its founder from day-to-day active politics.

His statement also sought to distinguish his political withdrawal from a withdrawal from public life. He said he would continue to stand with people on issues involving the interests of tribal and Bengali communities and the preservation of social harmony.

The timing of the announcement has added another dimension to the Village Committee election results. The victory has strengthened Tipra Motha’s position in the tribal areas, while its founder has indicated that he is prepared to relinquish an active political role at the moment when the party has achieved one of its most significant electoral successes.

For Mr. Debbarma, however, the measure of that success appears to lie beyond electoral numbers. He said that the principal achievement was the political unity of the tribal population and their growing awareness of their rights.

The next test, he suggested, would be whether the commitments made by the Centre and the State Government are translated into concrete measures.

While announcing his departure from active politics, Mr. Debbarma thus retained a role as a political voice on tribal rights. His promise to return if the community is again denied or deceived ensures that his announcement is unlikely to mark a complete departure from Tripura’s political landscape.

For the moment, he has chosen to step back. But he has also made clear that he does not regard the door to politics as permanently closed.

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