New Delhi, Feb. 11: After months of hectic negotiations, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has roped in yet another coalition partner in the Northeast. It has finally managed an agreement with the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) in Tripura, an organisation that has a support base among the state?s tribal population.
The agreement was signed by BJP vice-president Pyarelal Khandelwal and INPT general secretary Rabindra Debbarma at the party headquarters today in the presence of other delegates from both sides.
The joint statement that was prepared after the meeting said the BJP would take up the matter with the NDA for ?greater empowerment? of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) on the lines of the recently-constituted Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) in Assam. It was decided to include the issue in the state manifesto in the ensuing polls besides inserting it in the NDA?s common minimum programme.
There are 10 autonomous councils in the region under the Sixth Schedule but almost all of them suffer from financial stringency. The BTC, which is also under the Schedule, spans four districts in the Assam and will receive Rs 500 crore for development purposes directly from the Centre over a period of five years.
Khandelwal said the Centre had earlier asked for an ?opinion? from the Tripura government on the problems faced by the council. ?But there was no reply for reasons best known to them (the Left Front government). We will ensure a solution to the problems if the NDA is voted back to power,? he said after the agreement.
The statement said the BJP and the Trinamul Congress would decide the seat allotments for the Lok Sabha elections in ?consultation? with the INPT.
?The INPT has agreed to support the BJP and Trinamul Congress candidates from these two constituencies. They would be taken into confidence during allotment of seats,? Khandelwal said. Talks were not held on the demand for the introduction of the inner line permit in the tribal areas of the state, which was earlier demanded by the Tripura party, he added.
While the BJP plans to field its candidate from Tripura (East), a reserved constituency, Trinamul Congress will field its own in the other.