Tripura CM participates in Lok Sabha campaign for BJP candidate in Malda

WEST BENGAL: Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Friday participated in the party's Lok Sabha 'wall writing' poll campaign programme and door-to-door campaign in Ward 21 of South Malda, West Bengal for party's Lok Sabha candidate from the area.

The Tripura CM, who is on a two-day visit to West Bengal's South Malda to campaign for the Lok Sabha candidate of the BJP in the South Malda Lok Sabha constituency, arrived here on Thursday.

The BJP has re-nominated Srirupa Mitra Chowdhury for the Malda South Lok Sabha seat. While speaking to ANI about his campaign in South Malda, the Tripura CM told ANI, "I came here yesterday and attended many programs.

Today, there was a door-to-door program under Ghar Chalo Abhiyan and wall painting at two places. I participated in that."

Tripura CM, while speaking about the upcoming Sabha Polls in 2024, exuded confidence in the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) victory in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and said that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would get more than 400 seats.

Talking to ANI here, the Chief Minister said that there is no doubt that the BJP will win from the four seats here (in the Malda division).

"I have spoken to various officials who have come here and I understand that there is a lot of enthusiasm among them that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will win and the BJP will form a government. PM Modi has given a target of 370 seats and I am hoping that NDA will get more than 400 seats," he said.

The BJP, which had never won a single seat in Tripura before 2018, stormed to power in the last election in alliance with the IPFT and had ousted the Left Front which had been in power in the border state for 35 years since 1978.

The BJP contested on 55 seats and its ally, IPFT, on six seats.

But both allies had fielded candidates in the Ampinagar constituency in the Gomati district.

The Left contested on 47 and Congress on 13 seats, respectively. Of the total 47 seats, the CPM contested 43 seats while the Forward Bloc, Communist Party of India (CPI) and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) contested one seat each.

BJP won 36 seats in the assembly and got 43.59 per cent of the votes in the 2018 election.

The CPI (M) won 16 seats with a 42.22 per cent vote share.

The IPFT won eight seats and Congress could not open its account.

The CPI-M-led Left Front ruled the state for nearly four decades, with a gap between 1988 and 1993, when the Congress was in power but now both parties joined hands with the intention to oust BJP from power.

The Lok Sabha polls are likely to be held in April-May this year.