Pradyot Manikya opens up to InsideNE after historic election triumph; Here's what he said

Man-of-the-hour Pradyot Manikya, fresh off his election victory, opened up to InsideNE after wresting the Tripura Tribal Council from the BJP and its allies in an unlikely triumph.

Even though many saw his newly-floated 'The Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance' (TIPRA) as a major challenger, none could have predicted the thumping nature of its victory -- winning 18 of 28 seats on offer. The BJP and its ally won just nine, with the other seat going to an independent candidate. The Left Front, which won the earlier election, and the Congress drew a blank.

A major takeaway from this arduous and, at times, bitterly contested election, Manikya said, is the fact that regional parties do not need the crutch of national parties to ascend to power.

"Tripura is often cited as an example. That other states should not be like Tripura. So we have shown if there is unity -- regional parties do not need the support of Congress or the BJP to win an election. Although the numbers were skewed against us, we were able to deliver," he said.

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Asked about his party's agenda going forward, Manikya said: "Our's is a movement which is not compromised on our ideology for our power and post. There were many people who tried to offer me many positions but we did not compromise and we will not compromise in the future. My demand is already there for a greater Tipraland movement and we will not compromise on it."

Commenting on the Congress' fall from grace in Tripura, Manikya said that he "feels bad" for the party as it failed to secure a single seat in the just-concluded polls.

"I worked hard during my tenure as the Congress president. Today, my result shows that Congress lost a good leader because they were listening to people who had no understanding of what was happening on the ground. Me leaving, people like Himanta (Biswa Sarma) dada leaving -- there has to be some introspection on the part of the Congress. But it is their own thing -- and they have to take care of it on their own."

Although then All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Rahul Gandhi appointed the royal scion as the president of the Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee in February of 2019, he left in September of the same year citing ‘corruption, groupism' in the party.

Almost three months after resigning from the Pradesh Congress President post, Pradyot formed an organization to work for the rights of the indigenous people.

On 5 February 2021, Pradyot announced that their organization has become a political party and shall contest in the 2021 TTAADC election.

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