Agartala/UNI: Assam Chief Minister and Chairman of Northeast Democratic Alliance (NEDA) Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday asserted that BJP will return to power in Tripura with more seats than the tally of the 2018 assembly election.

BJP won as many as 36 seats including 11 tribal reserved seats while its electoral partner IPFT succeeded in eight seats out of 20 in the last assembly election. This time IPFT almost eroded in the hills on the wave of royal scion Pradyot Kishore Debbarman’s party TIPRA Motha.

However, BJP fielded candidates in 15 tribal reserved seats and allocated five seats for IPFT this time.

Sarma accompanied by his Manipur counterpart Nongthombam Biren Singh joined a huge colorful rally of Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha, which proceeded to nomination submission walking across the major streets of the city along with BJP Northeast In charge Dr Sambit Patra and several central leaders.

Dr Saha and others offered puja and prayer at the century-old Durgabari temple here.

Talking to the media, Sarma said, "In 2018 fear psychosis prevailed due to 25 years long misrule to communists but now peace is restored. Tripura witnessed impressive development under the BJP-IPFT government in the last five years, which people have been aspiring for a few decades.

"Earlier, Tripura was known for all the wrong reasons for communists’ oppression but today the world knows Tripura for tourism, connectivity, pineapple, and the corridor of Southeast Asia."

The people of Tripura don’t want to land in a regime of terror, under development, slogan culture, and social oppression.

At least 12.5 lakh people in the state have got the benefit of health insurance, 4.5 lakh toilets were constructed, and pure potable water supply reached 53 percent of people under Jal Jeevan Mission in five years, which was only three percent earlier, Sarma highlighted.

The free ration supply to the poor families which Prime Minister had started during Covid pandemic is still continuing and around 25 lakh families of Tripura have been getting the benefit, over 3.5 lakh houses under PMAY were constructed in five years, and about Rs 500 Cr fund was disbursed to 2.5 farmers, and 35000 women SHGs became functional during BJP’s rule, he pointed out.

"Our Prime Minister has a special feeling for Northeast and he has been working hard to bring Northeast at par with the other regions of the country. Tripura which had received only Rs 3500 Cr central development fund, in five years Modiji hiked it to Rs 14000 Cr. So, people will vote back BJP to power for peace and development," Sarma claimed.

On the alliance of CPI-M and Congress, he termed the alliance as "Zero" because both parties have now reduced to zero across the country and the people of Tripura know it better, he said and added, "Their alliance would not be a big issue for us – two zero value will yield another zero. BJP has no alternative."