Asserting that the BJP has a long tradition of maintaining coalition dharma, the party on Thursday said it will continue its alliance with the IPFT in the next Assembly elections, slated early next year.

The saffron party and the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) fought the Assembly elections together in 2018 and wrested power from the Left Front.

“The BJP pays respect to its allies, the saffron camp never throws out its electoral partners. Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had formed the National Democratic Alliance government… and the NDA still exists”, state party chief Rajib Bhattacharjee told PTI.

The BJP will continue its electoral alliance with the IPFT as the understanding was inked before the 2018 Assembly elections, the BJP leader said.

The BJP-IPFT combine swept to power in the state in 2018 winning 43 seats in the 60-member assembly. The BJP bagged 35 seats and the IPFT 8.

“The electoral bond will continue with the IPFT “, he said adding the BJP’s central leadership already held a meeting with the senior leaders of the regional party in New Delhi recently where a well-designed election strategy was chalked out for the 2023 elections.

He also made it clear that there was no move to forge alliance with Tipra Motha, another regional party, which is ruling the northeastern state’s lone autonomous district council.

“There has been no discussion or dialogue regarding stitching alliance with Tipra Motha,” he said.

The Tipra Motha is ready to talk to any political party, be it the BJP or the Congress, over an electoral alliance but will not compromise with ‘Greater Tipraland’ demand, party’s central committee member Animesh Debbarma, who is also the Deputy Chief Executive Member (DCEM) of Tripura Tribal Areas of Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), said on Thursday.

“As of now, there is no offer for a talk on alliance from any political party. We are a small regional party and let the offer come from a big party. Our demand for Greater Tipraland is very much constitutional and not against any political party, group or people”, he added.

The demand for Greater Tipraland seeks to include every tribal living inside and outside the TTAADC area.

The Greater Tipraland idea does not restrict only to Tripura and seeks to also include Tripuris living in Assam, Mizoram, and Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh.