Tripura: Exit of 5 MLAs a jolt for BJP, says Manik Sarkar

Leader of Opposition in Tripura Manik Sarkar (CPI-M) Tuesday said the saffron party has failed to keep together parties which had toppled the Left Front government in the state in 2018.

The situation has now changed in the northeastern state and three BJP lawmakers have quit and joined different parties, while two IPFT MLAs have joined Tipra Motha, he said at a state-level programme of the SFI here.

He said the defectors of the NDA are publicly saying that they were disheartened and deeply unhappy with the style of functioning by the saffron party. “This is a big jolt for the ruling party ahead of the election, the former chief minister said.

The Assembly poll in Tripura is due in February next year.

All the anti-Left parties had come together to defeat the Left Front government in Tripura before the 2018 Assembly elections. That resulted in the BJP, whose vote share was less than five percent before 2018, to secure 42 per cent vote share of the Congress and its ally INPT. The Left Front lost seven to eight per cent vote which took the vote share of BJP and its ally IPFT to around 52 per cent and the saffron party won the election, he said.

Critcising the BJP, he said the chief minister had to be changed only 10 months before the Assembly election.

The person (Biplab Kumar Deb) who was applauded by the prime minister had to be moved out of the chief ministers office and a new face (Manik Saha) was brought in to lead the government.

“This was done to divert the peoples attention from the failures of the BJP-IPFT government. But this will not save the BJP in the 2023 elections, he said.

Urging the SFI supporters to put up resistance against the saffron party, the CPI(M) Politburo member said the BJP will bite the dust if the people come forward unitedly and decisively.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)