AGARTALA, Sept 25: The BJP is preparing to fight the next assembly election in Tripura alone, a senior leader said on Saturday, following a strategy meeting attended by the party’s top brass of the region.
The meeting, attended by BJP general secretary (organisation) BL Santosh, Northeast coordinator Sambit Patra, Tripura in-charge Mahesh Sharma and chief minister Manik Saha, brainstormed to prepare a roadmap for the assembly elections.
The BJP, however, ruled out dumping its ally tribal party IPFT, which lost to Tipra Motha in the tribal body polls last year. Since then there has been constant desertion from IPFT to Tipra Motha, floated by the former Agartala princely family.
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“In the meeting, an elaborate discussion took place on various issues, right from the party’s latest position to Government’s performance and activities of Oppositions,” said BJP’s chief state spokesperson Subrata Chakraborty at a press conference.
“It appears that the people’s pulse is with the BJP and the party is all set to ensure a massive victory in the assembly election on its own,” he said.
Chakraborty said the party wants to consolidate its base in each polling booth.
“Apart from the plains, we are strong enough in the hills to compete with the Opposition. Therefore, the party will prepare itself in such a way that it will be able to contest the election alone,” he said.
Later clarifying, Chakraborty said his party was not in search of a new electoral partner, and the electoral understanding with the IPFT will continue as the BJP ‘never dumps an ally’.
The 60-member Tripura assembly will go to the polls early next year.
The BJP has 35 MLAs, while its ally IPFT has seven MLAs. Opposition CPI(M) has 15 MLAs and Congress has one MLA. Two seats are vacant. (PTI)
