Days after tripartite agreement with the Centre and the Tripura government on March 2 , the main opposition of Tripura, Tipra-Motha will join the BJP-led government before the Lok Sabha elections.

The Tipra Motha has 13 MLAs in the 60-member assembly and is likely to get two berths, said a leader of the party.

Sources said that incumbent opposition leader and senior Motha legislator Animesh Debbarma and party MLA Brishaketu Debbarma are likely to take oath as Cabinet ministers at the Raj Bhavan on Friday evening after their supremo Pradyot Kishore Debbarma returned back to the state.

Sources added that Chief MinisterDr  Manik Saha is scheduled to leave for Malda in West Bengal on Wednesday to attend a political event. Motha supremo Pradyot Kishore is also out of the station. In view of this, the date of the swearing-in-ceremony would be readjusted.

Leader of the opposition in the assembly, Animesh Debbarma of the Tipra Motha, told reporters that he is “not officially authorized” to speak on the issue. Tipra Motha chief Pradyot Debbarma, a scion of the Tripura princely family, is now in Delhi. “He is scheduled to return from Delhi on Thursday morning. Then, he is likely to sit with the chief minister," Animesh Debbarma said.

Media reports said that one or two MLAs from the ruling BJP are also likely to be included in the Council of Ministers headed by Chief Minister Dr Saha.

Since the BJP-led alliance assumed charge for the second consecutive term on March 8 last year, three ministerial berths are lying vacant.

Another tribal-based party, the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), is also an ally of the BJP-led government, and its lone MLA Shukla Charan Noatia is a Cabinet minister in charge of Cooperation, Tribal Welfare (TRP and PTG) and Welfare of Minorities Departments.

The Tipra-Motha, in its maiden electoral battle in the February 16 Assembly polls held last year, had fielded 42 candidates, including 20 on the tribal reserved seats. The party had won 13 seats with a vote share of 19.69 percent, as it highlighted its demand for 'Greater Tipraland' or a separate state for the tribals under Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution.

After the Assembly polls, the Motha became the second-largest party in the state to secure the main opposition party status.

After wrestling power in the politically important Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) in April 2021, the TMP intensified its agitation in support of its ‘Greater Tipraland’ demand, which has been strongly opposed by the ruling BJP, Left Front, Congress, Trinamool Congress and other parties.

On March 2, Tipra Motha had signed a tripartite agreement with the Center and the Tripura government 2 in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Tripura Chief Minister Dr  Manik Saha and others.

According to the agreement, a Joint Working Group, Committee would be formed to work out and implement the mutually-agreed issues in a time-bound manner to ensure an 'honourable' solution to tribals' demands.

“The agreement was signed amicably to resolve all the issues of the indigenous people of Tripura relating to their history, land rights, political rights, economic development, identity, culture, language etc.,” the agreement said.