Union Home Minister Amit Shah expressed optimism that the BJP will win a complete majority in the Tripura assembly elections, saying that the BJP is seeking a mandate to make the state affluent in the next five years by building on the party-led government’s development measures. In response to inquiries regarding a probable hung legislature in Tripura, Amit Shah stated that the seats in Tripura are tiny and that “you will see that before 12PM on counting day, the BJP would have crossed the majority mark.”
He also stated that the BJP’s ‘ChaloPaltai’ slogan in the last election was not intended to bring the party to power in the state, but rather to transform the situation in Tripura.
In 2018, the BJP set a new record by deposing the Left Front administration, which had controlled Tripura for 35 years beginning in 1978. The state will hold elections for its 60-member parliament on February 16.
The BJP is running for 55 seats, while its partner the Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) is running for the remaining five.
Shah stated that the Congress and CPI-M teaming together demonstrates that they are unable to beat the BJP on their own and that “it is very good position” for the party.
“We will increase our seats and also our vote share in Tripura. Congress and the Communist party have come together as they have accepted that they can’t defeat BJP alone. We will form government with full majority in the state,” Shah said.
“‘ChaloPaltai’ slogan was given to change the situation in Tripura, and we’ve done that. Earlier when the Left was in power in Tripura, government employees were paid under Pay Commission, but we implemented the 7th Pay commission in the state without increasing fiscal deficit. We eliminated violence in Tripura and also took strict action against drugs business from across the border in the state,” he added.
Shah also described the state government’s “successful initiatives” to stop violence in the border state and combat the drug scourge, adding that these had conveyed a positive message to the people.
“There is no violence in Tripura. Time has come to make Tripura prosperous. The double-engine government has taken several steps to fulfil its promises,” he said.
When asked about Manik Saha’s replacement as Tripura Chief Minister in May last year and whether it signalled the BJP’s central leadership dominating the state unit, Shah replied Deb is an MP with various major organisational roles in the national BJP. He stated that adjustments are occasionally made when national parties require central leaders.
“I feel this is promotion, it should not be looked at from any other angle,” he said.
The Home Minister stated that the BJP-led government has taken initiatives to enhance native languages in northeastern states, and that no major official programme in Delhi is complete without the presence of artists from the northeast. He stated that various initiatives have been made under PM Modi’s leadership to improve the lives of people in the northeast.
“There is peace in the Northeast today, there has been peace agreement with several militant organisations.”
He pointed to the accord reached with the National Liberation Front of Tripura to address the Bru-Reang refugee situation (NLFT). Shah stated that Prime Minister Modi’s measures had benefited the tribal community.
“The tribal communities are experiencing development now. Today, we have the first tribal President in the country. The benefits being given to poor families are also being extended to the tribal community without any discrimination. They realize that they were misled earlier”
Shah stated that all state capitals in the Northeast area will have rail and aviation connections by 2024, which is a significant accomplishment.
“Nearly over 8,000 cadres of militant outfits have surrendered arms and joined the mainstream. The northeast was known for blockade, protests, bomb explosions and insurgency. Today roads are being built there, airports are being built. Where there was one airport in a state like Tripura, we are building a second here. The Prime Minister has undertaken various developmental projects for the northeast region,” he said.
In Karnataka, Shah stated that the party will retake power with a landslide. “The BJP will form its government in Karnataka with a full majority. I have seen the pulse of the people and the popularity of PM Modi. The BJP will get a huge mandate,” he said.
In response to another question on some of the main states voting this year, he stated that the BJP is strong in Rajasthan, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh and would win all four.
“We repeated our governments in Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. We will repeat our government in Tripura also,” he said answering a query. When asked about the JD(S) accusing the BJP of dynastic politics, he stated that there are people in the BJP who are second or third generation politicians, but that the party president would not be from such a family or that the entire family will become an MP or an MLA.
“What kind of comparison is this? You have finished the entire democratic system,” he said. “Even the people of Mandya are now shifting from dynastic parties and accepting BJP’s politics of development. This is a good sign for Karnataka,” he said.
Shah, who recently visited Puttur in Karnataka to open the ‘Bharat Mata Mandir,’ said he welcomes any allegations levelled against him in connection with his visit to the poll-bound state. When questioned if the BJP had launched a nationalistic campaign in the state, Amit Shah replied he welcomed such claims.
“I accept and welcome all the allegations if they are levelled against me for going to the Bharat Mata Mandir,” he said.
He stated that the location displays photographs of Tantya Tope, Savarkar, and Param Vir Chakra recipient Lance Naik Albert Ekka. “I thank the trust which made it.”
Karnataka will have elections in the first part of this year. The Meghalaya and Nagaland Assembly elections will be conducted on February 27. The ballots in the two states, as well as Tripura, will be counted on March 2.
