Agartala, Aug 11 (IANS) A six-member delegation of the ruling BJP’s tribal leaders from Tripura on Monday held a meeting with the party’s National General Secretary (Organisation) B L Santhosh in New Delhi and discussed organisational matters involving tribals, a party leader said.
A BJP leader in Agartala said that the tribal leaders led by Tribal Welfare Minister Bikash Debbarma discussed the ensuing election to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), polling for which is due early next year.
The 30-member politically important TTAADC has been governed by the BJP’s ally Tipra Motha Party (TMP). The ruling BJP has been trying to strengthen its organisational base in the TTAADC, which has jurisdiction over two-thirds of Tripura’s 10,491 sq km area, and is home to over 12,16,000 people, of which around 84 per cent are tribals.
“During the meeting, the tribal leaders discussed in detail how to further strengthen the party’s tribal wing, Janajati Morcha and its political activities in tribal inhabited areas. B L Santhosh extended full support to boost the party organisation in the interior and tribal dominated areas,” the party leader said.
To lessen its dependency on tribal-based parties and their allies, the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) and the Tipra Motha Party (TMP), the BJP has intensified efforts to further strengthen its organisational base in tribal-inhabited areas of Tripura. Tribals constitute one-third of Tripura’s four million population.
Recently, the BJP government increased the monthly honorarium for tribal community leaders to woo the tribals’ sentiment. Chief Minister Manik Saha, in a post on X, had said: “In a significant decision by the State Cabinet, the monthly honorarium for tribal community leaders (Samajpatis) has been increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000. This decision reflects the government’s commitment to honouring the invaluable role and social contributions of the Samajpatis in the tribal communities.”
A senior tribal leader of the BJP said that as a national party, it has always been trying to further consolidate its base among the tribals.
“As a national party, we have a national perception and objective, but the regional parties have different ambitions. Sometimes these create complex situations. That’s why we try to strengthen our base among the tribals,” the leader said, refusing to be named.
He said that the Central government, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP governments in different states across the country, have dozens of schemes and projects for the all-round socio-economic development of the 11 crore tribals in India.
Amidst the BJP’s stepped-up activities to hold organisational programmes in the tribal dominated areas, TMP workers attacked the former’s (BJP’s) Karyakartas (functionaries) on two occasions in Khowai and West Tripura districts last month, injuring at least ten.
TMP workers attacked BJP functionaries when they assembled at a village in Khowai district during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme on July 27, injuring nine Karyakartas.
On July 31, TMP activists attacked BJP workers at Jampuijala in West Tripura district when the BJP leaders and members were holding a meeting. A BJP member was seriously injured in the attack and admitted to the hospital.
On July 17, the BJP held a crucial meeting — ‘Janajati Chintan Shivir’ — with all elected and organisational tribal leaders. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, state Party President Rajib Bhattacharjee, Tribal Welfare Minister Bikash Debbarma, tribal leader and former MP Rebati Tripura, all tribal MLAs, TTAADC members and tribal leaders across Tripura attended the daylong ‘Janajati Chintan Shivir’.
“The meeting was held to further strengthen the BJP’s organisational base among the tribals,” Bhattacharjee, also a Rajya Sabha member, had told the media.
–IANS
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