As the Assembly elections approached in Tripura in February, Swapan Debbarma hit the campaign trail with gusto. He was canvassing for NC Debbarma, chief of the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura, who was contesting from Takarjala constituency. “We went door to door telling people that the CPI(M) does not care about us indigenous people,” Swapan Debbarma recalled, referring to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) that ruled the state then. “If a tribal party comes to power, things will get better for us,” ran his pitch.
NC Debbarma won Takarjala by a handsome margin of 12,652 votes. The Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura went on to form a coalition government with the Bharatiya Janata Party.