With just days left for the Tripura Assembly elections, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath will hit the campaign trail in Tripura on Tuesday.
As per BJP sources, both leaders will speak at election rallies across the state on Tuesday. Their campaigning comes a day after Home Minister Amit Shah crisscrossed the state on Monday, speaking at multiple election rallies. This was Shah's second trip to Tripura in a month.
Besides the BJP leaders, TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who arrived in the state on Monday, will address a public meeting on Tuesday. "She landed in Agartala on Monday evening and visit Udaipur to offer prayers at the Tripureswari temple. On Tuesday, Banerjee will lead a roadshow in Agartala and address a rally at Rabindra Bhavan," TMC state in-charge Rajib Banerjee said.
Meanwhile, Amit Shah said on Monday that the BJP chief ministers in the last five years have ensured the security of Tripura, which was earlier witnessing cross-border infiltration and militancy. "The Congress has given you 'andhakaar' (darkness), but we (BJP) have given you 'adhikaar' (rights). The Left Front and the Congress used to do corruption and now both are together, but nobody can level allegation of a single scam against the BJP," he said.
The BJP ended 25 years of Communist rule in the state in 2018, bagging 44 out of 60 seats and recording a 51% vote share in alliance with the regional party Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT).
This time, however, arch-rivals Left and the Congress have joined hands to take on BJP. According to the seat adjustment, the CPI(M) will contest 43 seats, and its Left Front partners Forward Block, RSP and the CPI one each. The Congress will contest 13 seats.
Besides the two fronts, Tipra Motha, led by royal scion Pradyot Manikya Debbarma, too is in the fray. The Tipra Motha, which will contest independently, has promised to fight for 'Greater Tipraland', a separate state for the state's indigenous people.
Tipra Motha will have candidates in 42 of the 60 constituencies in Tripura. There are around 20 tribal-dominated seats, and these hold the key to power in the northeastern state.
Many feel that the Tipra Motha may do well in the polls considering that the former BJP ally IPFT has cut all ties with the Saffron party and is reportedly in talks with the Tripa Motha. The IFPT has a great hold in the tribal areas of the state.
However, the BJP alleges that Tipra Motha has a "secret understanding" with the CPI(M) and Congress. "Voting for Tipra Motha means supporting the CPI(M ), and supporting Congress means voting for Communists...giving mandate to the Communists means bringing back the days of unrest," he added.