Hundred Rupee Note & King’s Vote: Pradyot Deb Barma Would Rather ‘Ekla Cholo’ Than Form Alliance in Tripura | Exclusive

With the results of the assembly elections out on Thursday, the stage is set for Tripura to get its new government for the next five years. The wait is finally over and the country will know who has won the political battle after months of campaigning.

Ahead of the much-awaited election results, Tipra Motha Party President and Tripura Raja Pradyot Manikya Debbarma spoke exclusively to CNN-News18. As he arrived to cast his vote at the polling booth of Abhiram Mukumu SB School in Mandai Bazar on February 16, hundreds of people gathered waiting to bless their king.

An old woman took out a hundred rupee note and handed it over to Debbarma as a “lucky charm”. Meanwhile, some touched his feet and others took selfies with him. Responding to the massive support from the public, Debbarma said, “Throughout my election campaign, I was under tremendous pressure from various parties for an alliance. However, this hundred rupee note is a thousand times more than the money I get from industrialists. It was given out of pocket.

Talking about his party Tipra Motha, he showed confidence of winning with a huge margin. He emphasized that a large number of people have come forward for change and for their rights. “We will form the government and the mandate is clear. If not, I will prefer Ekla Chalo Re and sit in opposition instead of associating with parties” expressed Pradyot Manikya.

Thousands of tribal youth settled in and outside Tripura and gathered in large numbers to support Tipra Motha. A young man in the crowd was in a yellow jersey with ‘Dinesh Debbarma’ written on his back. He works as a manager with a multinational company in Bangalore and he encouraged many people to come out and vote.

“This is our last fight and our Bubagara appealed to our youth to stay out of Tripura and vote. I took a small initiative on my own to make sure that we win this last battle and make our King’s dreams and Tripura’s aspirations come true.

The BJP had wrested the governorship of Tripura from the CPI(M) in a surprise victory in 2018. In addition, several exit polls indicated that the BJP would win between 36–45 seats in the 60-member assembly by securing 45 percent of the popular vote, a majority of it in the plains where Bengalis live, giving it a landslide victory.

Just after the exit polls were released on 27 February, Pradyot Manikya released an audio message to his people and those present in the political galleries. Taking a jibe at his rivals, he said that losers make the most noise before their defeat.

“Don’t be saddened by the exit polls shown on television. You voted and you know who you voted for. These people will write anything for money. Don’t worry and just wait for 36 hours and then India Will know what Tiprasa is going to do this time”, he said.

“Those who are bursting crackers now, we will have to help them after the results are out on March 2 because by then they will spend all their money in bursting crackers,” he said. And then we will talk about the main constitutional solution. I am talking to all of you..don’t worry. Those who make the loudest noise before defeat”, added Bubagrah.

Tripura saw a voter turnout of 87.6 per cent, a few points lower than the 89.3 per cent recorded in 2018. The counting of votes will take place on March 2. Most of the seats saw a triangular contest between the BJP, the Left-Congress alliance. , and Tipra Motha. According to exit polls, TMC was also in the fray but failed to make much impact.

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