I See Tripura As The Gateway To The Northeast

It’s easy to mistake Biplab Kumar Deb, 48, as an ordinary next-door neighbour.

The chief minister of Tripura betrays neither his age nor the political weight he has come to acquire since his Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition wrested power last February in this northeastern state, routing the long-entrenched Left Front. At the helm of a once insurgency-riddled state, currently plagued by underdevelopment and unemployment, Deb faces stiff challenges. But he, who not long ago regularly trained with weights in the gym, is confident that Tripura will be back in shape soon. He spoke to Editor Ruben Banerjee about his plans. Excerpts…

Your ally, the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) is continuing to call for a separate state for tribals, the Tipraland. Are you in a position to accommodate such a demand?

It’s not like that…like every other party, IPFT has a political agenda. But when we formed an electoral alliance, we agreed on certain things. They agreed with PM Narendra Modi’s vision of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas. People voted for this and IPFT knows this. So for now, we are busy working for the welfare of the people. Nothing else matters.

But is Tipraland, a separate tribal state carved out of Tripura, a possibility?

I cannot predict as I am no astrologer. I am an ordinary BJP worker and I am busy working for the people.

IPFT can at some point seek to rake up the issue of a separate tribal homeland for political reasons.