In a first, Bru migrants exercise franchise as Tripura voters
In a first since their displacement from Mizoram in 1997, approximately 37,000 Bru migrants—now permanent residents of Tripura—participated in the Lok Sabha elections as registered voters of Tripura. Bru migrants have been residing in transit camps located within North Tripura district for over two decades after the 1997 ethnic clashes. Bruno Msha, general secretary of the Mizoram Bru Displaced People's Forum told the Indian Express, "We are voting for the first time in Tripura in the Lok Sabha polls."
Why does this story matter?
In 1997, following ethnic clashes in Mizoram, 37,000 Bru migrants fled, finding refuge in six relief camps in North Tripura district. Despite nearly 5,000 people returning in nine repatriation phases, a similar number fled back during renewed clashes in 2009. After 23 years of displacement—the largest in Northeast India—an agreement was reached on January 16, 2020, to permanently resettle them in Tripura.
2018 4-cornered agreement
This followed a 2018 agreement, rejected by the migrants due to insufficient consultation, aiming to repatriate them to Mizoram. Now, these Bru migrants, escaping crises in Mamit, Kolasib, and Lunglei districts, are permanently resettled in 11 locations across six Tripura districts, as per a four-corner agreement involving the Centre, Tripura, Mizoram, and the Bru migrants. Additionally, a ₹600 crore package has been announced by the central government for their resettlement.
Bru migrants had previously voted in Tripura during 2023 elections
During the last three Lok Sabha elections, Bru migrants exercised their voting rights through ballot papers at facilitation centers established in their transit camps in 2009 and 2014. In 2019, special polling centers were arranged for them at Kahnmun in Mamit district, near the Tripura-Mizoram border. Throughout these elections, the Bru migrants participated as voters from Mizoram.
Polling underway in East Tripura seat
Voting is currently taking place in 1,664 polling centers within the East Tripura ST-reserved Parliamentary constituency. Among these is a newly established polling station at Laungang in South Tripura, designated under a quadripartite agreement for the settlement of Bru migrants. As many as 88 constituencies across India went to polls in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The subsequent phases will be held on May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1.
