Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Monday claimed that BJP will form the next government on its own strength in Tripura in the February 16 Assembly poll.

CM Sarma accompanied Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha to file his nomination from the Town Bardowali seat on Monday, the last day to file nominations. Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh also accompanied them.

“BJP will be able to form the next government in Tripura on its own strength because of development during the past five years. The saffron party has decided to fight the election alone for the unity and development of the state and to ensure the people’s rights,” said CM Sarma, who arrived on Sunday night to be present during the submission of nomination papers of Saha and BJP state president Rajib Bhattacharjee.

“There should not be any doubt about BJP’s victory in the Assembly election on the basis of development that Tripura has witnessed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream for the country and the face of the chief minister,” he said.

The saffron party has an alliance with the IPFT like the last term as it is an “old friend”, he said.

Hitting out at the opposition, CM Sarma, who is also the chairman North East Democratic Alliance of BJP, said the Congress is “a big zero in the entire country while the CPI (M) is nowhere in the world”.

“If we add two zeros the result will be zero,” he said.

On the BJP poll plank for the coming election, CM Sarma said BJP believes only in development and it will be its main card. 

“The BJP has only one card – that is development. We have no other cards like donation or extortion,” he asserted.

The BJP is contesting 55 seats in the 60-member Tripura Assembly and has given five seats to ally IPFT.

In the 2018 Assembly election, BJP had secured 36 of the 60 seats and its ally, the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) bagged eight seats. 

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