Agartala, September 1:
The arrival of BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santosh and the party’s Northeast coordinator Dr Sambit Patra, state in-charge Rajdip Roy in Tripura, a day after the schedule for the long-pending Village Committee elections under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) was announced, has triggered fresh political speculation over the ruling alliance’s electoral strategy.
The nomination process for the Village Committee elections began on Tuesday, adding significance to the visit of the BJP’s central leadership, particularly as the alliance formula between the BJP and its ruling partner Tipra Motha for the polls remains unclear.
There has been no formal announcement yet on whether the two parties will contest the Village Committee elections together or field candidates separately.
According to party sources, Santosh and Patra are scheduled to hold a meeting with the BJP’s state core committee on Tuesday. On Wednesday, they are expected to meet members of the state committee, district in-charges and organisational in-charges. Santosh is scheduled to leave for Delhi on Wednesday afternoon.
Soon after arriving in the state, Santosh reportedly visited the Tripura office of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He is also scheduled to meet BJP leaders at different levels at the State Guest House.
While political circles expect discussions on the Village Committee elections, the current organisational situation of the BJP and its relationship with Tipra Motha, the party leadership has not publicly disclosed the specific agenda of the meetings.
Former BJP state president and Rajya Sabha MP Rajib Bhattacharjee said organisational issues would be a key focus of the discussions between the stateand central leadership, adding that the BJP and Tipra Motha are already alliance partners in the state government.
He said a final decision on whether the two parties would jointly contest the Village Committee elections would be taken shortly.
With the Village Committee election process now underway, the visit of the BJP’s central leaders has assumed added political significance. Attention is now focused on whether the meetings over the next two days will provide any clarity on the BJP-Tipra Motha electoral arrangement for the polls.
