Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 11, 2023 said he would personally oversee the implementation of the BJP’s ‘Sankalp Patra’ (manifesto) released for the Tripura Assembly polls.
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Addressing two election rallies, he repeatedly appealed to people to refrain from voting for the Left-Congress alliance and retain the “double engine” government in the State for the “continuation of peace, development and welfare measures”.
Mr. Modi addressed the first of his four scheduled district-wise ‘Vijay Sankalp’ rallies at Ambassa in Dhalai district, 87 km east of Agartala, and the second at Udaipur in Gomati district. He will visit Tripura again on February 13. The Assembly polls are due on February 16.
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Mr. Modi spent a greater part of his speech lashing out at the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and Congress, highlighting their alleged misrule, corrupt practices, oppressive anti-poor and anti-tribal attitude, terror tactics and divisive policies in the past. “People got rid of unbearable sufferings in all spheres of life and business by installing the ‘double engine’ government in the 2018 Assembly polls,” he said.
“These parties have now joined hands for the lust of power and bring back the dark chapter,” he charged. In his appeal for votes, he made it clear that the BJP “counted every single vote” and people should “set up their minds to vote only for the lotus [the BJP’s] symbol”.
Unlike Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the Prime Minister did not mention the TIPRA (Tipraha Indigenous Peoples Regional Alliance) in both his speeches, but said “a few small parties were also trying to split votes”.
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He urged people to not fall prey to the political chicanery of the Congress and the Left, and wondered “how these parties that fight in Kerala State can be friends here for your well-being”. “This tie-up is nothing but a ploy to hinder development spree, welfare and peace initiatives, and create a complete anarchy in the State,” he alleged.
Mr. Modi said the “double engine government is working to make Tripura an international gateway and hub” and was committed to its all-round development. In this context, he highlighted the HIRA (Highways, Internet, Railways and Airways) model of connectivity, and the ‘Tri-Shakti’ development initiative.
At the Ambassa rally, Mr. Modi spoke at length on the measures for the benefit of the tribal population and claimed indigenous people had immensely benefited from the schemes as “now development can be seen everywhere” in Tripura. He also touched upon his government’s success in ending the Mizoram Bru tribe refugee stalemate after over 23 years and providing them a permanent settlement in Tripura.