After Mizoram and Goa, Tripura becomes the third fully literate state of the country, BJP-TMP tussle in discussion

Agartala. Tripura was declared the third fully literate state of the country in 2025 after Mizoram and Goa. At the same time, this year the tussle between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ally Tipra Motha Party (TMP) and security threats from Bangladesh were the major issues in the state. The literacy rate of the state has reached 95.6 percent. Based on the guidelines of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Education Ministry has set a criteria of more than 95 percent literacy rate to declare a state fully literate.

Internal strife was seen between TMP and BJP in the northeastern state of Tripura. In this series, before the upcoming Tripura Tribal Area Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) elections, incidents of attacks on each other’s workers by both the parties came to light in which many workers were injured. TMP supremo and scion of the former royal family Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma reiterated his party’s stand on the implementation of the ‘Tiprasa’ agreement and the adoption of the Roman script for the Kokborok language spoken by tribals in the state.

He warned that if the provisions of the ‘TIPRASHA’ agreement were not implemented by then, the party would go alone in the TTAADC elections to be held in April next year. The Tiprasa Agreement refers to an agreement signed by TMP with the Central and State Government in 2024 for the overall development of the indigenous people. TMP also organized the first conference of ‘One North East’ (ONE), a common platform for regional parties, which seems to make the BJP more uneasy.

Chief Minister Manik Saha hit back at TMP, saying his government will not be affected by “political blackmail”. Sanjeev Deb, editor of a local newspaper, said that there is little possibility of BJP and TMP contesting the TTAADC elections as an alliance in view of the ongoing dispute between the two parties.

However, he also said that the outcome of the TTAADC elections will have no impact on the 2028 assembly elections. Security has been beefed up in Tripura in view of the unrest, lawlessness and rise in anti-India sentiments in Bangladesh. Tripura witnessed large-scale bloodshed in the 90s when militant groups like the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) carried out insurgency activities in the state from their bases in Bangladesh, disrupting the peace and development of Tripura.

TMP’s ally Youth Tipra Federation (YTF) organized a rally near the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala to protest against the attacks on minorities in the neighboring country. Senior journalist Shekhar Dutta, who has reported on Bangladesh Liberation War-1971, said that any incident happening in the neighboring country directly affects Tripura.

He expressed hope that the Central government will take steps to thwart any security threat emanating from Bangladesh, which surrounds Tripura on three sides. On the economic front, Tripura achieved a major achievement when the state received major investment proposals worth Rs 3,700 crore during a business summit held in Delhi. If these proposals are implemented at the grassroots level, it will help in setting up industries and creation of infrastructure.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also inaugurated the renovated Tripureshwari Temple (a Shakti Peetha) in Gomti district. The renovation of this temple has cost Rs 51 crore. In the healthcare sector, the state government has signed an MoU with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) under which doctors from AIMS GBP Hospital and Agartala Government Medical College will be trained to improve services. The Tripura government claimed that law and order was maintained and the number of crimes had declined in the last two years.

However, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) MLA Jitendra Chaudhary alleged that there was “complete anarchy” in the state and opposition leaders were facing the brunt of “BJP sponsored violence”. After the high-level review meeting, the Chief Minister said that crimes against women should reduce from 412 in 2023 to 275 by November 2025. Assembly Speaker Vishwa Bandhu Sen died in a private hospital in Bengaluru. He was 72 years old.