Agartala: Hours after TIPRA Motha’s victory in the village committee elections under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council, party founder Pradyot Kishore Debbarma on Wednesday announced that he would step away from active politics within a month.In a letter, Debbarma said years of travel, public life, negotiations and political struggle had taken a toll on his health, peace of mind and family life.“The long journey has come at a personal cost. The years of travel, public life, negotiation, and constant struggle have taken a toll on my health, my peace of mind, and at times, and my family. I have given much of myself to these causes, often without thinking of the price I was paying personally. Today, after much thought and considerable pain, I am making a clear and final decision: I am stepping away from active politics,” he wrote.Debbarma said he wanted to spend more time with his family and return to a quieter life.“I seek a quieter chapter of my life, one closer to my family, to nature, to the things I have left unfinished, and to the wisdom that comes only when one finally finds some silence. Stepping away from politics doesn’t mean leaving Tripura,” he added.He said tribal people in Tripura were now politically united and aware of their constitutional rights, but indicated that he could return to politics if the community was misled again.The announcement has also triggered speculation about internal differences within TIPRA Motha. Party sources pointed to tensions involving Ranjit Debbarma, a rebel-turned-legislator who was inducted into the party and contested the last assembly elections.Ranjit’s alleged aggression towards police during last week’s village committee polling and his alleged divisive comments on the state and Central govts have reportedly caused concern within the party. According to an aide to Pradyot, Ranjit has pursued his ethnic agenda independently of other Motha leaders and does not share Pradyot’s stated opposition to violence and political polarisation.“Being the grandson of Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore, there is no selfishness or hatred towards any community in our blood,” Pradyot said while explaining his decision to leave electoral politics. “I never liked politics,” he added, saying he had entered public life because of the struggles faced by the tribal community.Pradyot, a former close aide of the Gandhi family, became president of the Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Congress, which had secured less than 2% of the vote after several of its leaders joined BJP before the 2018 assembly election, later increased its vote share to 26% under his leadership.Born in New Delhi and raised in Shillong, Pradyot had earlier worked as an activist for tribal rights. He resigned as state Congress president in 2019 following differences with the Tripura Pradesh Congress over the National Register of Citizens issue and subsequently stepped away from active politics.He later led opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2018, and filed a petition in Supreme Court seeking its withdrawal in Tripura, along with enforcement of a 1951 NRC cutoff in the state.His campaign gradually won support among tribal communities and led to the formation of the Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance, or TIPRA Motha. The party has since demanded a constitutional solution for Tripura’s tribals, including the creation of “Greater Tipraland”.TIPRA Motha’s support base grew after its victories in the last two elections to the autonomous council. Following a recent meeting in New Delhi with BJP leaders, Pradyot sought a written guarantee for a constitutional solution for the tribal population.With an assurance from Union home minister Amit Shah, TIPRA Motha contested the village committee elections as an NDA partner and secured about 75% of the seats.
