AGARTALA | The Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) has announced that it will contest the upcoming Village Council elections, with party president Asish Kumar Saha accusing the BJP and its ally, the Tipra Motha Party, of failing to safeguard the interests of the state’s indigenous and tribal communities.

Saha said on Thursday that the Congress has intensified its organisational preparations in tribal areas and will field candidates in the upcoming polls.He said the Adivasi Congress and the Pradesh Congress have been working jointly to strengthen the party’s organisational base and rebuild support in the hilly areas of the state.

Highlighting the Congress’s past initiatives, Saha claimed that the party had taken several measures for tribal empowerment when it was in power at the Centre and in Tripura. These included the creation of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council, implementation of forest rights, expansion of reservation benefits and various development programmes for tribal communities.

Saha alleged that the BJP governments at the Centre and in Tripura, along with Tipra Motha, had failed to fulfil their commitments to indigenous people.He also questioned the proposed electoral understanding between the BJP and Tipra Motha, pointing out that the two parties had previously been political opponents in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.

“Those who promised to fight for the rights of the tribal people have failed to fulfil their commitments and have disappointed them,” Saha said. The Congress leader alleged that the BJP-Tipra Motha understanding was driven primarily by electoral calculations rather than a genuine commitment to tribal welfare and development.

Saha said the Congress would continue to raise issues concerning indigenous communities and strengthen its presence in tribal areas ahead of the Village Council elections. He urged tribal voters to support the Congress and said the party would field candidates with the aim of securing a mandate to represent the interests of indigenous communities at the grassroots level.