UNION Home Minister Amit Shah, who has started his 11-state tour with poll-bound Tripura, on Thursday flagged off the party’s first election rath yatra in the state, asserting a message of “vikas” or development.
The rath yatra was launched a day after the BJP state government announced a 84-point ‘Report Card’ of its performance under 10 major headings, claiming it had fulfilled all of its 2018 poll promises.
Flagging off the Jan Vishwas Yatra with the slogan: “Tripuray abar BJP sarkar (BJP government in Tripura again)”, Shah hailed the BJP government’s work on “vikas” against “vinash (destruction)” under the Left, and its focus on “vishwas (faith)” instead of “vivaad (conflict)”, “sushasan (good governance) instead of “kushasan (bad governance)”; and “suvidha (ease of living)” instead of “duvidha (confusion)”.
The BJP will return to power in Tripura with a two-thirds majority, he asserted, adding that while the Congress was “finished” in India, the Communists were “finished across the world”.
In a significant remark at a time when the rising tribal TIPRA Motha party, led by royal scion Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma, is being wooed by all parties, Shah invoked the role of the erstwhile Manikya monarchs in ensuring that Tripura aligned with the Indian Union during Partition.
He recalled a previous rally in the state in 2008, when 11 people had turned up, and added that by prior to the 2018 assembly polls, he was raising the slogan “Chalo paltai (Let’s make a change)”, after which the BJP stormed to power, decimating 25 years of Communist rule with a never-before-seen thumping majority.
“This rath yatra will cross 1,000 km and instill vishwas among people… We are confident the BJP will return to power with two-thirds majority this year,” he said.
Accusing the earlier Left government of crushing the administration under a “cadre raaj”, Shah said that in the last five years, the BJP-led government had laid the foundations for a developed and prosperous Tripura.
“This government has extended sanitary toilets, gas connections, safe drinking water and healthcare to tribals and women. Tripura was known for terrorism, infiltration, armed trafficking, corruption, crimes on tribals. But now, we have ushered in development in connectivity, sports, industrial investment, organic farming and other sectors,” the Union minister said.
Citing major achievements of the BJP-led state government since 2018, Shah claimed they “ended” armed insurgency by reaching an understanding with the outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT). He also said 37,000 Bru migrants from Mizoram have been permanently resettled in Tripura, 4.25 lakh families provided with safe drinking water, housing benefits rolled out to 3.80 lakh families, major strides made in connectivity and infrastructure development, besides extending nutritional benefits to mothers, subsidies to farmers, free ration to poor families, etc., as well as free healthcare benefits to 13 lakh families in the state under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana.
Announcing the Jan Vishwas Yatra last week, the BJP had said the eight-day-long statewide rath yatra would boost confidence among its rank and file, while spreading the message of the achievements of the BJP-led governments in Delhi and Agartala.
The yatra has two legs, starting from Dharmanagar in North Tripura and Sabroom in South Tripura — the two farthest corners of the state. The first leg was flagged-off this afternoon from Dharmanagar, a small town in northernmost Tripura, amidst a huge gathering. The Union home minister then proceeded on helicopter to flag-off the second leg from Sabroom.
The yatra, which will cover 1,000 km across all 60 assembly constituencies, would continue for eight days and include 200 meetings, 100 padyatras and 50 road shows, among other events to boost the confidence, faith and vishwas among the party’s political ranks. Both raths would start for Agartala on Youth Day (December 12), where BJP president J P Nadda would be present at the conclusion of the yarta.
Tripura Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha said the ‘Chalo paltai‘ slogan of 2018 was based on faith in good governance, which was delivered in the last five years. “Our government delivered good governance with support from the Centre. We are confident BJP will return to power in all 60 seats, and this Jan Vishwas Yatra would involve all people in vishwas (faith) for the BJP,” he said.
Former Chief Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Biplab Kumar Deb said while 2018 was the year when the people threw the Communists out of power, the 2023 polls would be when they would have to choose their future. “The 2018 polls were about freedom from Communist rule. 2023 will be to secure our children’s future. I’m sure the future will be safe and secure in BJP’s hands under the leadership of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah,” Deb said.
While the BJP hopes the yatra would infuse fresh enthusiasm in the party rank and file, opposition parties were dismissive, claiming that rath yatras are a part of religio-cultural beliefs and traditions that are held in the Bengali month of Asharh (monsoon) and not in winter. The Congress in fact said the okaal (untimely) rath yatra would not bear well being for the BJP in Tripura.
Flagging off the Jan Vishwas Yatra with the slogan: “Tripuray abar BJP sarkar (BJP government in Tripura again)”, Amit Shah hailed the BJP government's work on “vikas” against “vinash (destruction)” under the Left. (Express photo by Debraj Deb) 
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