Agartala, Feb 04: With 35 rallies across Tripura, attended by among others its national president J P Nadda, the BJP stepped up its campaign to retain power in Tripura, pitching development and “end of violence in the state” as its poll planks.
Nadda, who joined a ‘Vijay Sankalp Yatra’ in Amarpur, Gomati district, targeted his assault at the Left Front-Congress alliance, announcing the regimes of each have been marked by insurgency, political murders, violence, and looting.
“Those who are fighting against us, who are they? What is this Gath Bandhan (alliance) for? This is to save their existence… We are fighting to take Tripura ahead in the country and the world. Our fight is for giving wings to youths, dignity to women, ushering in development, promoting trade and business and making Tripura the centre of tourism,” he said, asking the people to give “kaam (work)” to the BJP and “aaram (rest)” to the Opposition.
Also Read: The budget increased by 4 times for tribal communities: Nadda in Tripura
Apart from Nadda, BJP star campaigners who have been a part of the rallies in Tripura, Friday have been Union minister Smriti Irani, Union Minister of State Pratima Bhoumik (who’s additionally contesting the polls), Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, West Bengal Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari, Bengal BJP leader Dilip Ghosh, and MP and BJP Janajati Morcha chief Samir Oraon.
While the Left and Congress see a chance given that despite losing power in 2018, the CPI(M) alone had a 42.22% vote share compared to the BJP’s 43.59%, the BJP is confident that there has been no erosion in its base. No Opposition party has performed well in polls held in the past five years in the state.
The BJP’s astonishing performance in 2018 was almost entirely on account of the Congress’s fall. While the BJP went up from less than3% vote share and no Assembly seat in 2013 to 43.59% vote share and 36 seats in 2018, the Congress plunged from the 40-45% vote share it retained even during 25 years out of power under the Left, to a mere 1.79%.
Take the case of Amarpur. A Left bastion for numerous decades, it changed into a few of the seats won by the BJP in 2018, with its candidate a former Left Front leader, Ranjit Das. While Nadda’s two rallies in Tripura last month saw low turnouts and were a cause for some discomfort in the BJP, on Friday, Amarpur turned up in strength for the BJP chief. Also present in large numbers were people from adjoining Ampinagar and Karbook constituencies.
Nadda actually took heart from the turnout, saying it showed that the people of Tripura have decided to vote for the BJP again.
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, who joined the Amarpur rally, gave the slogan “Ek Tripura, Shrestha Tripura (One Tripura, Best Tripura)”, saying it was only possible under a BJP government.
