Fledgling TIPRA changes political equations in Tripura

My stand on CAA/NRC vindicated, says former Congress chief Pradyut Manikya

“The results of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council elections is a vindication of my stand,” said Pradyut Manikya, who led the newly formed Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA), to victory, grabbing 18 out of the 28 seats. The victory comes 19 months after Mr. Manikya quit the Congress over differences with the party’s stand on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register for Citizens (NRC). While the Congress was opposed to the NRC, Mr. Manikya, who was then president of the Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee, went to the Supreme Court seeking an NRC in the State. The Congress, he said, also wanted him to go slow on its opposition to the CAA. “When I quit Congress I was very hurt to see many senior leaders allege that I will soon join BJP. I met Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and told her that I am not joining any party and that I will ensure BJP’s defeat in the Tribal council polls. And today, I stand vindicated,” Mr. Manikya told The Hindu.