Tripura BJP manifesto promises more autonomy for tribal council, sops for farmers

The ruling BJP on Thursday unveiled an election manifesto for Tripura promising more autonomy for the tribal council as well as increasing sops for farmers, women and students.The elections to the 60-member Tripura Assembly, scheduled for February 16, are expected to be a three-cornered contest between the BJP, Tipra Motha and the Congress-CPI(M). "We will take Tripura on the path of DTH - development, transformation and harmony," BJP president JP Nadda said at a press conference after releasing the manifesto for the northeastern state.

However, the manifesto released by BJP president JP Nadda at a huge convention center in front of his cadre instead of a traditional press conference was silent on providing jobs to the people or pension and poverty relief for the state's 1.9 million government employees. Analysts saw the promises of greater autonomy to the tribal areas as an effort to counter the new Tipra Motha party's demands for a larger Tipraland and sops as the BJP's response to promises by the TMC to bring all the benefits to farmers and women in Tripura.

The BJP also announced a Rs 5-for-all meal scheme, named after religious guru Anukul Chandra, and the establishment of a Regional Institute of Medical Sciences hospital in Agartala. The manifesto said that a Balika Samriddhi bond of Rs 50,000 will be given to each girl child, while Kokborok tribal language will be made a subject of CBSE and ICSE syllabus. Nadda said the party would give more legislative, executive and financial powers to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), which comprises two-thirds of the state's geographical areas and is home to tribes that make up one-third of the state's estimated 40. lakh population.

The manifesto claimed that the party would achieve "historic lasting political solutions" in a time-bound manner by adopting all constitutional, legal, executive and administrative measures without affecting the territorial integrity of the assembly. "We will give more autonomy to the tribal areas including greater legislative, executive and financial powers," BJP president Nadda said while releasing the party's manifesto for Tripura. “We will provide budgetary allocations to the Council in proportion to the population of its area and the funds will be transferred in a time-bound manner for holistic development and the Council will have the power to send proposals regarding centrally sponsored programs directly to Headquarters. government,” added Nadda.

The BJP's promises to tribal areas appear to have been made in an apparent attempt to counter Tipra Moth's popularity, political analysts said. In its manifesto released on 5 February, Tipra Motha promised to fight for a "Greater Tipraland" by carving out a Tribal Council area, as well as areas elsewhere where Tiprasa tribes had a majority, as well as a police force for the Council, 20,000 new jobs and a one-time package for gunmen who surrender.

The CPI(M)-led opposition Left Front in Tripura has also promised 2.5 million new jobs, pensions for poor senior citizens and reintroduction of the old pension scheme apart from DA for government employees twice a year if elected to power. However, the BJP manifesto was silent on giving jobs or increments in DA to 1,88,494 government employees and pensioners, perhaps considering the costs involved and the inadequacy of the old pension system that inflated government employee outflows in both countries. center and states.

The saffron party, which came to power in 2018 by ending a decade of Marxist rule, promised to provide 2.5 million jobs during its five-year rule, but it remained more or less a paper promise. BJP Manifesto Committee Chairman, Dr. Ashoke Sinha, when asked about the lack of commitment to work, said, “Recently, we increased the DA for employees and provided jobs to the unemployed. We mean it, but we don't want to make any false promises." Nadda also said during the release function, "We will set up manufacturing zones specific to rubber, agar and bamboo industries," which local BJP leaders paraded as an apparent promise to create more jobs in the landlocked state. The BJP president also said, “The Prime Minister's Kisan Samman Nidhi of Rs 6,000 will be increased with the state government providing Rs 2,000 more.” An offer to throw libations for the poor in the predominantly agricultural state.