3 min readAgartalaFeb 5, 2023 01:27 AM IST
First published on: Feb 5, 2023 at 01:27 AM IST
Defending its fort is BJP’s forte, and bringing out its heavy artillery for a campaign blitzkrieg its tried and tested formula for winning elections. Tripura is going to be no exception. As poll day draws near, the BJP on Saturday announced the names of its star campaigners. And it’s a star cast of its national leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is likely to visit the state on February 13, the last day of campaigning.
Speaking to reporters at the party’s state headquarters in Agartala, BJP spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharya said Modi is likely to address rallies in West Tripura and South Tripura districts in a whirlwind tour.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who visited Tripura on January 5 to flag off a Ratha Yatra called the ‘Jan Vishwas Yatra’ from both North and South Tripura, is scheduled to visit the state again. While Bhattacharya didn’t give out details, a party insider said Shah is likely to visit on February 6 and February 12, where he would join 10 rallies and public meetings across Tripura.
BJP national president J P Nadda on Friday visited Tripura and joined the party’s mega campaign event, where a host of leaders including Union Minister Smriti Irani, Union MoS Pratima Bhoumik, Assam Chief Minister and North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) chief Himanta Biswa Sarma, West Bengal Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari, Bengal BJP leader Dilip Ghosh, MP and BJP Janajati Morcha chief Samir Oraon, among others, joined 35 rallies in different constituencies.
The party source said Nadda would visit again, along with star campaigners like Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Sarbananda Sonowal, Kiren Rijiju, Arjun Munda and Smriti Irani, while other key campaigners like Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, Manipur CM N. Biren Singh, Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu, actors Hema Malini, Mithun Chakraborty, Manoj Tiwari, Nisith Pramanik, Ashim Sarkar, et al, would also be seen in the campaign trail. Himanta Biswa Sarma, Suvendu Adhikari, Dilip Ghosh and Samir Oraon would also return to the state.
The BJP also criticised the Left Front poll manifesto and said the Opposition “knew” they would not come to power and so was making impossible promises like giving jobs to 10,323 retrenched school teachers, who lost their jobs over faulty recruitment according to a SC verdict. Neither the BJP nor its alliance partner IPFT has announced their poll manifestos. On the issue, Nabendu Bhattacharya said his party would soon announce its manifesto.
Lauding the PM Vikas scheme of the Union Budget, Bhattacharya said it would support a host of businesses, including small industry and handicrafts, and said states like Tripura would be directly benefitted by it. He also said the Budget has allocated huge funds for animal husbandry and pisciculture and said agriculture would now be computerised and its database would be prepared for it.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who visited Tripura on January 5 to flag off a Ratha Yatra called the ‘Jan Vishwas Yatra’ from both North and South Tripura, is scheduled to visit the state again. (File) 
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