Kalyanpur, Mar 07, 2023, TRIPURA TIMES Desk

Kalyanpur, Mar 7: Bharatiya Janata Party candidates retained all three Assembly seats – Kalyanpur-Pramodnagar, Krishnapur and Teliamura – under Kalyanpur sub-division in the February 16 elections.

Even as BJP candidates won with comfortable margins, the performance of TIPRA Motha in the sub-division has become a concern for the saffron party leaders and many BJP activists are blaming BJP’s ‘inexplicable’ soft attitude towards TIPRA Motha during the campaign.

At Kalyanpur-Pramodnagar Assembly, sitting BJP MLA Pinaki Das Chowdhury was re-elected with a bigger margin but his vote percentage came down to 43.49 per cent in 2023 compared to 52.53 per cent 2018 and TIPRA Motha’s candidate occupied the second spot with 27.49 per cent votes pushing down CPM supported Congress candidate into the third position.

In the Krishnapur seat also BJP candidate Bikash Debbarma could gather 39.97 per cent votes compared to BJP’s Atul Debbarma’s 51.64 per cent in 2018. Tipra Motha secured the second position with 32.33 per cent votes.

The scene is slightly different in Teliamura where CPM supported Congress candidate managed to occupy the second spot and TIPRA Motha came in the third place – however, the winner, BJP’s Kalyani Roy suffered a reduction in vote share from 57.30 per cent in 2018 to 42.10 per cent in 2023.

According to the local BJP supporters, BJP fought the poll battle on two issues – development works done by BJP and misrule during the Left and Congress eras as well as the ‘unethical’ alliance between LF and Congress.

Even as saffron party leaders slammed CPM-Congress very hard and confidently highlighted the development of the State during the last five years – for some ‘incomprehensible’ reasons, BJP did not spare words against TIPRA Motha – “party leaders remained almost silent”, commented a BJP activist in Kalyanpur.

“The silence of the saffron party was utilized by the TIPRA Motha and it put up a good show”, said a Kalyanpur-based village.