No support to any political party for Tripura bypolls, says TIPRA Motha

Tripura’s opposition party TIPRA Motha on Friday said that they would not support any party in the bypolls at Boxanagar and Dhanpur constituencies scheduled to be held on September 5.

Both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M) have fielded their candidates for the bypolls, results of which would be announced on September 8.

“Our target is to achieve Greater Tipraland and not bypoll. We were labelled as Lal Motha ( Red Motha) and broker of the BJP. We are neither Lal Motha nor broker of the BJP. That’s why, we have taken a decision not to field candidates in the by-polls. And we have also decided not to support any party. People will decide whoever they want to vote,” leader of Opposition Animesh Debbarma told media persons at the Agartala Press Club.

The bypolls were necessitated after the seats fell vacant following the death of CPI(M) legislator of Boxanagar constituency Samsul Haque and the resignation of Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment Pratima Bhoumik, who had won from Dhanpur seat on a BJP ticket.

The CPI(M), earlier, claimed that the TIPRA Motha was campaigning in favour of the CPI(M) in the two constituencies.

Reacting to it, Debbarma said, “They are candidates of the CPI(M) and not any alliance candidates. We will not impose any decision on our party supporters.”

CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury said, “ The ground reality is that the TIPRA Motha activists are campaigning with our party activists. They told that they want the voters to vote freely. We also want the same. We just want to ensure that no opposition votes get divided like in the last Assembly polls.”