Cracks in BJP-IPFT Alliance of Convenience?

It has been reported that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and their ally in the state government, the Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) will not contest the Tripura panchayat bypolls together. The polls are to be held on September 30. Though the two parties have downplayed any cracks in their alliance, the events since the BJP and IPFT formed the government in Tripura might suggest otherwise.

The present scenario is that there are 3,207 gram panchayat seats, 161 panchayat samitis and 18 zilla parishad that are going for the bypolls. These seats were vacated following the BJP and IPFT forming the government in the state. The BJP will be fielding 3,155 candidates, whereas the IPFT will contest as many seats as it can. The Congress has claimed that it will contest all the seats, while the Left Front has stated that it will contest as many seats as possible.

Also read: Who Will Blink First?

The BJP, which embraced the separatist IPFT to win the Tripura Assembly elections early this year, has had an uneasy alliance since it formed the government. Prior to the assembly elections, the BJP had demanded that the IPFT drop its demand for Twipraland --  a separate state comprising all the areas that fall under the Tripura Tribal Autonomous District Councils (TTADC). This has been a long-pending demand, from even before the IPFT was formed, as far back as the 1970s. The IPFT never committed itself to dropping the demand, and instead has made noises at regular intervals regarding it. It even made it a key campaign plank for the Assembly elections.

Also read: Is the BJP Riding a Tiger in Tripura?

The IPFT also joined in the chorus of its former rivals, such as the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Congress, in opposing the BJP in imposing Hindi on news channels in the state.

Another issue that might suggest a crack in the alliance is the demand for updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state. This demand arose after the details of the NRC process emerged from Assam. The IPFT, along with other tribal parties, is completely in favour of implementing the NRC in Tripura. However, the BJP in the state, as well as Himanta Biswa Sarma in Assam, has stated that there is no need to implement the NRC in Tripura.

Also read: NRC Demand in Tripura: Do The Tribal Parties Have A New Political Weapon?

While only  time will tell how long the alliance will last, it appears at present that both the parties are maintaining it solely for self-interest. The BJP appears to be hell-bent on capturing the tribal votes riding piggy-back on IPFT, while the latter seems to be more interested in consolidating the same demography and to its advantage.