Agartala, Sept 06: The people of Barjala assembly constituency under West Tripura district gave an impressive response to BJP’s rally led by Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha in the presence of state president Abhishek Debroy on Sunday.

The rally evidently reflected the BJP’s strength in the constituency in view of the upcoming 2028 assembly polls. It was launch of the saffron camp’s public outreach programme for the assembly polls.

In the last assembly polls, the BJP faced defeat at Barjala, but today’s public response in the rally gave a different vibe. The Chief Minister welcomed 325 voters from CPI-M and Congress to Bharatiya Janata Party.

Speaking at the massive rally, Dr. Saha said, Bharatiya Janata Party’s political agenda is aimed at fulfilling people’s expectations, improving their quality of life and standing by them in times of need.

He said, there could be no greater achievement in politics than bringing smiles to the faces of ordinary people.

Dr. Saha further said, the BJP’s “double-engine” government believes in development-oriented politics and stressed the need for party workers to reach out to every section of society with the government’s record of development and welfare initiatives.

He also urged party workers to make people aware of what he described as “misinformation and politics of confusion” being spread by the opposition.

Referring to the 2023 Assembly elections, he said the BJP must ensure that the mistakes of 2023 in Barjala are not repeated in 2028.

“For the sake of development, peace and progress, we must work together to reclaim Barjala,” he said, calling for unity among party workers to achieve the objective.

Dr. Saha said, several elections were approaching, including the upcoming Village Committee polls, in which the BJP would contest in alliance with its NDA partners- Tipra Motha and IPFT.

The Chief Minister alleged that attempts were being made to create a “divide-and-rule” situation in the state. Referring to the political history of Tripura, he said people still remembered how the CPI(M) formed the government in 1978 and went on to rule the state for 35 years.

Dr. Saha claimed that the people of Tripura, particularly those in the Barjala area, had witnessed a “dangerous situation” during the earlier period of Left rule. He alleged that some opposition leaders were still engaged in conspiracies and trying to revive the political mindset of the past.

“They are still carrying the mindset of 1978 and are trying in various ways to regain power,” Saha said, alleging that the Congress and CPI(M) had now joined hands with the sole objective of securing political power.

The Chief Minister also criticised the Congress-CPI(M) alliance, claiming that during the last Assembly elections, flags of the two parties were seen emerging from each other’s party offices.

He asserted that the BJP’s organisational strength continued to grow and described it as one of the largest political parties in India and the world.

Dr. Saha said, elections to local bodies, including the Agartala Municipal Corporation and Nagar Panchayats, would follow the Village Committee elections. Recalling the BJP’s previous performance, he said the party had won all 20 seats it contested last time and expressed confidence that a similar result would be repeated.

According to Dr. Saha, people want political leaders whom they can trust and rely on, rather than politics based on “muscle power.”

“We have to work for the people,” he said, highlighting government initiatives providing drinking water, housing, free food and cooking gas connections to beneficiaries.

He described PM Modi as a leader who remained focused on the welfare of the people and on taking forward the country’s development. Dr. Saha also highlighted India’s economic growth, claiming that the country had emerged as the world’s fourth-largest economy.

The Chief Minister said the Tripura government would continue working for the welfare and development of ordinary citizens.

BJP state vice-president Ratan Ghosh, Barjala Mandal president Rajib Ghosh, Sadar Gramin vice-president Kajal Dey, elected representatives and other party leaders were present at the rally.