Agartala: The Tipra Motha Party (TMP), an ally of the ruling BJP in Tripura, has announced that it will form a wing for indigenous farmers.
Currently, the party has frontal organisations for students, women, and youth.
“I urge all indigenous farmers of Tripura to unite and form the Tripura Indigenous Farmers’ Association,” TMP supremo Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma said in a post on social media.
A TMP leader said the move is intended to consolidate the party’s base among farmers ahead of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) election due next year. The TTAADC area is two-thirds of the state’s territory and is the home to the tribals.
Debbarma stated that the farmers’ organisation will help peasants brand, market, and sell indigenous products such as bamboo, oranges, areca nuts, mangoes and pineapples across the country and the world.
“We have some of the best produce in the country yet we are one of the most exploited farmers in the country. I firmly believe that to rise as a community, we must empower our farmers economically,” the TMP supremo said.
The TMP, which used to be the main opposition party of Tripura, joined the BJP-led government ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
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Originally formed in 2019 following Debbarma’s resignation from the Congress, the party has swiftly gained prominence, particularly in tribal areas.
In the TTAADC election held in April 2021, the TMP bagged 18 of the 28 seats that went to polls. The party now has 13 MLAs in the 60-member state assembly and two ministers.
