Amit Shah hits out at Manik Sarkar-led Tripura govt, says BJP will win polls

AGARTALA:  Hitting out at the ruling Communist Party government in poll-bound Tripura, the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Monday said that BJP will win Tripura polls.

"Next government in Tripura will be of the BJP. There is anger against the CPIM govt throughout the state, because of their misrule Tripura stands last, when it comes to development," Shah said.

Ahead of the state Assembly elections to be held next Sunday, the ruling party chief is on a two-day visit to the northeast state of Tripura.

While addressing a public rally on Sunday, he asked the people to oust Tripura's 'Lal bhai' government, as he accused the Left cadres of pocketing public funds meant for development. He promised to make the state a model one if his party is voted to power.

With the BJP being seen as putting up a strong challenge to the 25-year-old uninterrupted Left reign in the state, Shah led an eight-kilometre road show and addressed rallies in which he sought votes for the state's "transformation".

Shah made a host of promises to the people of the state, including smartphones for youths, implementation of the seventh pay commission for government employees from the next day of his party being voted to power and action against chit fund scam accused.

The Left government, he said, was made in the name of the poor but poverty increased in its 25 years of rule and the number of unemployed youths rose to 7.33 lakh from 25,000 during the period.

Taking a dig on Sarkar for his charge that the Centre had not done much for the state's development, the BJP chief reeled out the names of a number of central schemes and noted that it had released Rs 25,396 crore to Tripura under the 14th finance commission against Rs 7,283 crore it had got under the 13th finance commission.

Raising the party's slogan, 'Chalo Paltai' (Let's change the government), Shah sought the Left's ouster from the state.

The BJP is contesting 51 out of the 60 Assembly seats, while its ally Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) is fighting on nine seats.

The northeastern state of Tripura is going to polls on February 18 while the counting of votes will be done on March 3.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) has a strong foothold in Tripura and is in power for the past 25 years.

The incumbent Chief Minister Manik Sarkar is at the helm for the past 19 years. He held the term for the fourth time after the party swept away the 2013 assembly elections.

In the last polls in 2013, the CPI (M) managed to bag an overwhelming majority with 51 seats, while the rest was shared by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Congress party.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which did not win even a single seat in the last polls, has been working hard to overthrow the CPI (M) rule this time. Six Congress MLAs, who first joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC), switched over to the BJP in August last year.

Apart from this, there are three major tribal parties in Tripura- the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) and National Conference of Tripura (NCT).

(With PTI inputs)