In fresh controversy, Tipra Motha founder says he will ‘restore Tripura kingdom’

Tipra Motha founder and royal scion Pradyot Kishore Manikya has stoked a controversy following his remarks on restoring the “Tripura kingdom”. Mr. Manikya urged Tiprasa people to keep thansa (unity) among themselves to retrieve lost glory.

“I see a portrait of Maharaja Bir Bikram here. He was the king of Tripura, but today somebody else is the king,” Mr. Manikya said at a meeting of the indigenous peoples’ Kshatriya Samaj in Charilam, Sepahijala district on Saturday (January 17, 2026).

Wearing a pagdi (turban) and holding a ‘court sword’, the royal made the speech before hundreds of supporters who habitually address him as ‘Bubagra’ (king).

Mr. Manikya is known to create controversy via rhetoric. Opposition parties, including the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and the Congress, however, blame him for manipulating the sentiments of indigenous people to gain his larger political mileage, and negotiate terms with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

HIs party, the Tipra Motha, is part of the BJP-led three-party coalition government, and is the ruling party in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC). Elections to the TTAADC and Village Committees are expected to take place soon.

Tension is running high in the hills and interior areas of the State, with the Tipra Motha trying to hold its position, and the BJP frequently organising political events to expand its base. Supporters of the two parties often clash, sometimes violently, inviting intervention by the security forces.