BJP President JP Nadda seeks blessings of tribals in Tripura ahead of elections

BJP President JP Nadda on Monday virtually kicked off campaigning for the Assembly polls in Tripura due next year, by seeking ‘blessings’ from the tribals for the party and promising new heights in economic growth.

On the second day of his two-day visit to the Northeastern state, Nadda claimed that Tripura attracted huge investment for infrastructure development while industrialisation gained pace under the BJP regime.

“I urge the people of all the 19 tribes of the state to judge the works done for your betterment and bless the BJP in the elections,” Nadda said while addressing a rally at Khumulwng in West Tripura.

In the 60-member Tripura Assembly, 20 constituencies are reserved for ST while tribal voters are the deciding factor in at least six to eight seats.

Nadda asserted that it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has discovered the true strength of the ‘janajati’ (tribal) people.

“A janajati leader from a village, Droupadi Murmu, was elected as the President of India. The honour has been given to her when the country is celebrating Azadi Ka Amrit Mahatsov,” he said at Khumulwng, 18 kilometres from the state capital Agartala.

The area falls under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council TTAADC which comprises two-thirds of the state’s territory and is home to the tribals who constitute a third of Tripura’s estimated 40 lakh population. The Tipra Motha, a party formed in early 2021, swept the TTAADC elections held in April last year.

‘Village council’ (panchayat) polls are to be completed in the TTAADC region by the first week of November. This election is the last major one before the 2023 Assembly polls.

“Eight tribal leaders found place in the Modi cabinet, the highest in a particular government. In Tripura, the number of tribal ministers is five. We believe that tribals are part of the national mainstream,” Nadda said.

Claiming that tribals were ignored during the erstwhile government, he asserted that the BJP has been working for the welfare of indigenous people.

The CPI(M), which was defeated by a BJP-led coalition in the previous assembly election in the state, claimed that the place where Nadda held the rally was developed by the Left party when it was in power “defying the diktat of insurgents”.

“Not a single brick was installed at Khumulwng after the BJP-IPFT government came to power. Therefore, Naddji’s claim of ignoring tribal people during the Left regime is far from reality, ” CPI(M) state secretariat member Pabitra Kar said.

Earlier, at a press conference in Agartala, Nadda claimed that all-round development has taken place in the state during the past four years under the BJP rule and if it is voted back to power in 2023, the state's economic growth will "touch new heights".

He said that the state's per capita income has grown by 30% to reach Rs 1,30,000 per annum, "which is an indicator that the state is marching ahead".

The state's annual budget has increased from Rs 12,600 crore to Rs 27,000 crore, he stated adding that farmers’ income has increased from Rs 6,500 to Rs 11,000 per month due to paddy procurement at a subsidised rate and the successful implementation of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme.

Nadda also claimed that political violence had been put to an end in the state.