Will quit politics after Tripura polls, will be with people: Tipra Motha chief

Tipra Motha chairman Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma announced that he will quit politics after the February 16 Tripura assembly elections and will never seek votes as bubagra (king).

Addressing a rally in Charilam on the last day of the campaign on Tuesday, the scion of the former royal family of Tripura said many leaders have deserted him without understanding his feeling for putting up a fight for protecting the rights of poor people who have no food, shelter and education access.

“Today is my last speech on a political stage and I will never seek votes as a bubagra after the assembly elections. It pained me but I have fought a tough battle for you,” he said.

Tripura will go to poll for the 60-member assembly on February 16 and counting will take place on March 2.

"It is sure bubagra will not be in politics after March 2 but I will be with my people forever. I will work for healthcare, education, giving scholarships to the poor," he said, while addressing an election rally at Charilam, around 35 km from Agartala.

Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Deb Varma, another member of the erstwhile royal family, is the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from the Charilam constituency.

“He (Jishnu Debbarman) knows when I take a challenge, I see only dofa (community). I will not give an inch of land to him in the battle,” he said.

However, he added: “It is not a fight of the royal family... It is a fight for the poor who don't have food, shelter and education".

Subodh Debbarma is the Tipra Motha nominee in Charilam constituency.

Debbarma also asserted that he is not anti-Bengali.

"The family that helped and respects Rabindranath Tagore and Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose needs no certificate of not being anti-Bengali," he said.

The party is contesting 42 of the 60 seats in Tripura.