Last Update: February 14, 2023, 08:30 IST
PM Narendra Modi with Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha during a rally ahead of the Tripura Assembly elections, in Agartala on Monday. (PTI)
Some in the party believe that Union Minister Pratibha Bhowmik, contesting from Tripura, is from the Nath sect and is Bengali speaking and if the party remains in power, she will be a Bengali face and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Against BJP will be parallel.
Though Tripura goes to polls on February 16, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is yet to announce its chief ministerial candidate as part of its strategy. Ahead of crucial elections, the saffron party had replaced chief ministers in other poll-bound states, and later declared him as the CM face.
Sources said that though the strategy of declaring Pushkar Singh Dhami and Bhupendra Patel as the CM face worked in Uttarakhand and Gujarat respectively, the BJP has deliberately decided not to name the CM face for Tripura.
Union ministers will contest from the state
The BJP leadership has also decided to keep its options open and has sent Union minister Pratibha Bhowmik to contest the assembly elections. Many believe that sending Bhowmick was a message to the state leadership of the party. Also, by not announcing any face as the CM, the party is being calculative as many seats are witnessing close contests if party sources are to be believed.
Some in the party believe that Bhowmick is from the Nath sect and speaks Bengali and if the party remains in power, she will be the Bengali face and BJP’s parallel against another Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.
The party is set to announce a woman leader, who served as a Union minister and yet entered state politics.
The party removed Biplab Deb from the post of Chief Minister while giving the job to Manik Saha.
Prime Minister Mr. @narendramodi During his visit to Tripura today, Ji interacted with prominent leaders of the tribal community of Tripura and discussed the initiatives taken by the government for the welfare of the tribal people.#TripuraiAbarBJPSarkar pic.twitter.com/PJkxkxeyRM— BJP Tripura (@BJP4Tripura) February 13, 2023
tough challenge
Party sources claim that the BJP will retain power, however, it comes with a condition. There are many seats in the north-eastern state where the party will face a tough challenge as the entire opposition seems to be fighting the BJP government.
“The Congress-Left alliance has already got the tacit support of Pradyut Debbarma, scion of tribal king and chief of Tipra Motha, another party particularly active in tribal seats. This changes the equation on some seats. However, we still believe that the grassroots workers of both the Congress and the Left will not come together as they have faced violence at the hands of each other over the years,” said a senior party leader.
Securing Tripura is considered important for the BJP as the party ousted the CPIM government in the state in 2018 after 25 years.
Since the Lok Sabha elections are just a year away, the party feels that winning will boost the morale of the workers to a great extent. Sources said that it also feels that by winning the BJP will be able to establish itself as a party that will remain in the North-East and that the victory last time was not just a coincidence.
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