Agartala/UNI: When CPI-M and Congress said the victory of BJP in the Tripura assembly election because of TIPRA Motha candidates, the latter party chairman and royal scion Pradyot Kishore Debbarman claimed the reverse saying BJP could have won around 50 seats in the 60 -members assembly if Motha was not in the fray.

TIPRA Motha has won 13 out of 20 ST reserved seats in the assembly while CPI-M and Congress secured victory in 11 and 3 seats respectively. The CPI-M claimed they lost as many as 17 non-reserved seats where TIPRA Motha fielded their candidates and ate away non-BJP tribal votes, which were believed to come in CPI-M or Congress basket.

Besides, ST reserved seats Motha contested in 22 non-tribal seats, which according to CPI-M and Congress ensured the victory of BJP. At least in 17 seats of those, Motha candidates secured a huge number of non-BJP votes and paved the way for the saffron party; otherwise, BJP could have not crossed more than 12 seats altogether, alleged senior CPI-M leader Pabitra Kar.

"From the very beginning, we were apprehending such a situation and that’s why we offered 17 seats of 20 ST seats to TIPRA Motha but they didn’t agree. If they accept the offer or negotiate, Left Front, Congress, and Motha could form a stable government with a two-thirds majority.

"The empowerment of ADC at all levels and the socioeconomic development of tribals could have been achieved through our united pressure on the central government but today the Motha’s fight become tougher," Kar stated.

Ruling out the leftist’s proposition and electoral analysis, Pradyot claimed if TIPRA Motha had not been in the electoral fight in 22 non-ST seats the BJP would have won 50 seats in the election and said, “Motha had made its stand very clear to all the parties that to give written assurance of Greater Tipraland would be pre-requisite for striking any electoral adjustment but it did not happen, therefore, we had to fight alone.”

Pradyot Kishore, however, informed that they have appointed a five-member team to evaluate the party’s performance in the recent assembly elections and asked to submit a report within two months. The team comprised the president of the party Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhal, Chairman of ADC Jagadish Debbarma, former tribal welfare minister Mevar Kumar Jamatia, former MLA Rajeswar Debbarma, and Buddhu Debbarma.

He added, there will be meetings with candidates, workers, and people at large to find out the strengths and weaknesses of the party to make the fight stronger. But the party has not changed its stance on the Greater Tipraland statehood issue and will raise it in forthcoming the assembly session with no chance of deviating from its core demand.