IPFT MLA Brishaketu Debbarma, who recently resigned from the party and the Assembly, joined the Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA) here on Thursday in the presence of its chairman Pradyot Kishore Debbarman, president Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhawl and senior party leaders.
Several youth leaders of the IPFT also changed sides along with Mr. Debbarma. The event came as another big blow to BJP’s coalition partner that failed to win a single seat in the election to the tribal autonomous district council.
The TIPRA, armed with its ‘Greater Tipraland’ plank, registered convincing victory and captured the council that has limited jurisdiction over the State’s three fourth land.
A senior leader of the TIPRA said they were expecting a few more MLAs from the IPFT. The IPFT had eight MLAs and two ministerial berths in the coalition government headed by Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb.
Speaker Rebati Mohan Das has not yet accepted the resignation of Mr. Debbarma citing technicalities. But the IPFT might start pursuing the Speaker to accept it.
Sources in the TIPRA said Mr. Debbarma is most likely to get nomination in the byelection to the Simna constituency in west Tripura from which he had won in the February 2018 election.
