New Delhi: The BJP will be laying special emphasis on its election preparations for Tripura, ‘the Battle Royale for the North East’, which the party feels would give it a strong toe-hold in the West Bengal.
Led by Manik Sarkar, the Communist Party of India (CPM) has recorded four consecutive wins in the state, and this will be the first time that BJP will be directly challenging the Left dominance anywhere in India.
“CPM leaders have called this elections as Mahabharata and even the Battle of Waterloo. Yes, this will be the Battle Royale for us, and we will form the government with a comfortable majority in the state,” BJP General Secretary in-charge of the NE Ram Madhav told News18.
Despite the Modi wave in the last General Elections, CPM polled close to 12 lakh votes in Tripura while BJP got less than 2 lakh.
Madhav, however, claims that the party in the last one year has emerged as the main contender to challenge the CPM government after both Congress and Trinamool MLAs joined the BJP.
The BJP will not announce a CM candidate in Tripura. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will spearhead the campaign holding two rallies in the state on Thursday.
BJP leaders feel that success in Tripura would provide huge impetus to its poll preparations in West Bengal where CPM over the years has been a dominant force. The BJP is also in talks with some tribal parties for a pre-poll alliance in the state.
“Without compromising on the territorial integrity of Tripura, we are willing to discuss issues and strike alliance with regional parties,” Madhav said.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh will flag-off BJP’s Tripura campaign from Agartala next week.
The Elections Commission on Wednesday announced elections to 60 Assembly seats in the state to be held next month along with two other states in the Northeast — Meghalaya and Nagaland.
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