Tripura Polls 2018: BJP forges alliance with IPFT

Seeking to unseat the Left Front from power in Tripura after an unbroken stint of 25 years, the BJP on Thursday formalised an alliance with the IPFT for the state Assembly polls under which the saffron party would contest 51 seats and its ally 9.

Polling for the 60-member Tripura Assembly is slated for February 18.

Making the announcement here, Chairman of the North-East Democratic alliance (NEDA) Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters the two parties resolved to have a common minimum programme for fulfilling socio-economic, educational, linguistic and political aspirations of the indigenous communities of Tripura.

Sarma, an Assam minister, said the alliance between the BJP and the Indigenous People's front of Tripura (IPFT) was formed to "respect people s demand", and stop division of anti-Left votes.

"A joint document of alliance would be made public in three days. Our party has committed that the issues relating to socio-economic, socio-cultural and linguistic problems of the backward tribals in the state would be addressed with utmost care if the alliance comes to power after the Assembly poll.

"We have no doubt that we would wrest power from the CPI(M)-led Left Front", he said.

He said people had grown "tired of CPI-M's misrule and oppression" in the last 25 years, and wanted change.

Under the seat-sharing arrangement, the IPFT will contest Simna, Mandaibazar, Takarjala, Ampinagar, Manu, Raima valley, Ramchandraghat, Asharambari and Kanchanpur seats.

Sarma, Assam's finance minister, said the BJP had been entering into alliances in the north-eastern states with regional parties like Asom Gana Parishad.

The list of candidates will be finalised by the party's parliamentary board in New Delhi on January 27, he said.

Asked whether the BJP was planning alliance with any other party for the Tripura polls, Sarma said it was ready to accommodate any good candidate with the potential to win but they will have to contest on the saffron party's election symbol.

"People get confused with too many symbols. We welcome new entrants into our party but they will have to contest on our symbol," he said.

The Left Front has been ruling Tripura for the last 25 years. The state's current Chief Minister Manik Sarkar has had the longest run, and has helmed Tripura for 20 years now.