Agartala, October 1:
The BJP in Tripura has stepped up preparations for the forthcoming urban local body elections, with state party president and MLA Abhishek Debroy indicating that polls to 21 urban local bodies, including the Agartala Municipal Corporation, are likely to be held in the next two months.
Debroy said the party has constituted committees at different levels and held detailed discussions on its strategy to seek victory across all 21 urban local bodies.
The meeting, attended by Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha, Ministers, MLAs, district and mandal presidents and ULB chairpersons, discussed the party’s organisational preparedness and policy for the elections.
“An election is going to be held in the next one-and-a-half to two months. We discussed with everyone how we will move forward and what our policy will be,” Debroy told reporters after the meeting.
Asked about the possibility of seat-sharing with alliance partners TIPRA Motha and IPFT, Debroy indicated that their organisational and electoral presence was largely confined to the tribal-dominated district council areas, while the BJP has a wider presence across the urban local bodies.
He, however, stopped short of ruling out any arrangement, saying the final decision would rest with the BJP’s central leadership.
“We are a national party. Whatever Delhi decides, we have to obey that,” Debroy said, adding that the party’s core committee, state organisational leadership and central leaders would take the final call.
“If they guide us, we will go accordingly. The party will decide,” he said.
Debroy said development would be the BJP’s principal campaign plank in the urban elections, claiming that there had been a significant change in the condition of urban areas under the BJP-led government.
“Our agenda will be development,” he said, urging voters to compare the situation across the different ULBs.
Earlier, Chief Minister Saha said the meeting discussed election preparations, including reservation-related issues and organisational mobilisation.
Saha urged BJP leaders and workers to remain serious and avoid any “lethargy” in the run-up to the polls, recalling the party’s performance in the previous urban local body elections.
“Everyone has to take the matter seriously. There should not be any lethargy anywhere,” Saha said.
He said the BJP would seek a fresh mandate on the basis of development work undertaken in urban areas.
The meeting was also attended by Agartala Mayor and MLA Dipak Majumder and other senior BJP leaders.
The BJP’s organisational exercise comes ahead of the urban polls, with the party beginning mobilisation across all 21 ULBs while leaving the question of any electoral understanding with its alliance partners to the central leadership.
