The Left Front-Congress combine has made a last-ditch effort for a seat-sharing arrangement with the Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance, or TIPRA Motha, led by Tripura’s royal scion, Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma.
The push is a bid to offset the probable division of anti-BJP votes after the TIPRA Motha fielded 42 candidates — 22 in non-tribal areas beyond the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).
Parallelly, the Left Front and Congress are in talks to iron out their differences over four seats. The Left Front, primarily the CPI (M), fielded 47 candidates and allotted the remaining 13 seats to the Congress but the latter put up candidates in 17 seats.
One Congress candidate opted out later, leaving the tussle over three seats to be resolved by February 2, the last date of withdrawal of nominations.
State secretary of the CPI (M) Jitendra Choudhury confirmed the efforts to strike a seat-sharing deal in order not to hand the BJP an advantage.
“Our talks with the TIPRA Motha are on. Both sides are examining the possibility of coming to an agreement by February 2,” he told journalists on Tuesday, insisting that the Left Front’s arrangement with the Congress was not an alliance but an “adjustment”.
State Congress president Birajit Sinha echoed Mr. Choudhury. “An understanding with TIPRA Motha should result in the withdrawal of nominations by some candidates,” he said.
But Mr. Debbarma said his party was against any alliance, formal or informal.
“We are going it alone but we have not fielded a candidate against Jitendra Choudhury because he is a Tiprasa [a term for 19 tribes of Tripura] and has a certain degree of commitment as an individual [to the tribal cause],” he said.
Mr. Choudhury is contesting the Sabroom seat.
The TIPRA Motha and the BJP had discussed a possible pre-poll arrangement. But the talks fell through after the Centre refused to give a written assurance on the creation of a “Greater Tipraland” State, as sought by Mr. Debbarma.
