Days ahead of Tripura Assembly election, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Monday exuded confidence that the BJP would secure a landslide win in the northeastern state. Saha said the BJP would secure more than the 36 seats it got in the last Assembly election in 2018.
"You've heard of a tsunami, something like that will happen. Anything can happen but it will not be less than 2018. In 2018, we got 36 seats and our alliance partner got 8 seats. So this time we will get more than 36 seats," Saha said in an interview with ANI.
Polling for all 60 seats will be held in a single phase and votes will be counted on March 2.
Training his guns on the Left Front, Saha termed the "democratic" removal of the CPI(M) government from the state in the last assembly election a "historic" moment. In an interview with ANI, Saha asserted that the communists should not be voted to power again as they committed murders and their regime was replete with incidences of violence.
Underlining that the BJP worked for all sections of society, Saha both the state and central governments undertaken multiple initiatives for tribal community's welfare.
"It's a history that after 35 years of rule, BJP removed the Communist government here in a democratic way. It has barely happened in India's history," ANI quoted the CM as saying. The Left Front has been in power Tripura for 35 years since 1978.
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Tripura will see a three-cornered contest between the ruling saffron party, the Congress alliance and new entrant Tipra Motha. The BJP has deployed its top leaders in the state for poll campaigning, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
"The BJP is a family. Everyone comes here during this time of elections. We are not just Tripura BJP, we are a national party," said the Chief Minister, as cited by ANI.
Saha further said, "Communists committed murders and violence here, so it is important that they do not return to power as violence cannot lead to development. Numerous people sacrificed their lives."
Taking a swipe at the Congress, Saha said Tripura was not important for the party as its star campaigners, including members of the Gandhi family, were missing.
"In Congress, one leader comes, another does not, but there is a commitment in our party," he said.
"Nobody came in the local body elections, we (local leaders) managed everything. We came out to be 100 per cent successful in the local body polls," he added.
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While Congress and Left parties have entered into an pact for the assembly polls, Tipra Motha, chaired by Bikram Manikya Debbarma, is fighting on its own and has made "Greater Tipraland" its main poll plank.
On the 'Greater Tipraland' issue, Saha asked questioned about its boundaries. He said the BJP government had taken a lot of initiatives for the welfare of tribal community.
"I said, again and again, where is the boundary of 'Greater Tipraland'. Sometimes they say it is in Bangladesh and sometimes they say it is also in parts of Assam, Mizoram. It can't be defined properly...PM Modi and Tripura government are doing a lot for tribals," he said.
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The Chief Minister stressed on the BJP's thrust on 'HIRA' - Highway, Internet, Railway, Airport - in the state.
"The airport has been named after Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya. We declared two days holiday for Garia Puja festival, which earlier used to be of one day. We have also declared the birth anniversary of Maharaja Bir Bikram as a holiday. We do a lot of work for the tribal everywhere," he said.