Pradyot missing from Tripura, resentment growing in ‘Tipra Motha’ party, tribals suffering in interior areas, ADC inactive

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, May 14, 2024

Tripura’s royal scion Pradyot Kishore who is known to have coined the titillating slogan ‘Puila Jati, Ola party’ (first nation then party) has been missing from Tripura ever since the election to the East Tripura (ST) Loksabha seat had ended on April. Within a short while of the end of polling in East Tripura both Pradyot and his sponsored elder sister BJP candidate Kriti Debi have gone out of sight of people as well as party rank and file. Yesterday a journalist known to be close to Pradyot tried to contact him over phone but there was no response or even sound from the other end. No party leader has also been able to get in touch with him.

There is reportedly growing resentment in ‘Tipra Motha’ party over Pradyot’s authoritarian and imperious ways and tendency to ride roughshod over the opinions and sentiments of fellow party leaders . Many leaders had felt that veteran Bijay Kumar Hrangkhawal would have been the best Loksabha candidate for the party in the elections but Pradyot brought in his rank outsider sister Kriti Debi from Jharkhand and Chhattishgarh to contest the poll on BJP symbol. “This has created a serious resentment among our followers and supporters but no leader is coming out openly against such arbitrary actions of Pradyot , considering other implications but a time is coming when he will be left alone to fend for himself in the party” said a senior leader of ‘Motha’ on condition of anonymity.

Apart from this, total lack of any development work in ADC areas and a variety of crises including food shortage in many areas have become a sore point against Pradyot and the ADC council run by his party.”It has been stated by some ADC representatives that there is lack of fund as the state government has not been sanctioning adequate funds but Pradyot has always been silent on this; he could have raised the issue both with the state and central governments on the strength of his proximity to Amit Shah and other senior BJP leaders but he has not done so ; he is completely mum on this sensitive issue ; this is another reason for growing resentment against his leadership” said a senior leader of the party on condition of anonymity.