Tripura: Biplab Deb's rival and party colleague, Sudip Roybarman included in list of BJP campaigners for Delhi polls

Though Tripura Chief Minister was absent in Northeast India Sampark Cell meeting with the people of the region living in different parts of Delhi at the residence of Minister for Development of Northeast Region (DoNER) and Prime Minister’s Office Dr Jitendra Singh, both the MLAs and the state president interacted in the meeting.

Sudip Roybarman is known as biggest critic of Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb for which he was excluded from the ministry despite being the best performing minister in Biplab’s cabinet. In the recently-concluded assembly session also the CM was embarrassed by the barrage of criticism from Roybarman over the alleged wrongs committed by the government including corruption in contracts and providing jobs.

The unceremonial departure of Sudip from the cabinet and subsequent political distance between Chief Minister and Roybarman had fragmented Tripura BJP and boosted Congress and CPI (M).

Roybarman has a good number of followers across the state including a group of BJP MLAs and senior leaders but his isolation in the party had weakened BJP base in the state.

Recently, after Dr Manik Saha was elected as the state BJP president, he made an effort to unite the fragmented forces and reorganise the anti-left leaders and voters to counter the growth of Congress and CPI (M). According to reports, besides all MLAs, Dr Saha has been contacting former presidents and party leaders and important personalities of the state who had helped in BJP's victory in 2018.

In past two years, despite being the president of state BJP, Chief Minister failed in expanding the party and strengthen its base at grassroots level. Rather, his vindictive activities and sectarian approach caused exodus of able party workers.

The party rank and file, cabinet ministers, MLAs and administration as a whole became hostile in the two years rule of BJP and Biplab Kumar Deb government became unpopular.

The state BJP was not able to unite the anti-left leaders in last two years and mistrust among the party leaders and workers emerged as a major hurdle for the party.

The existence of BJP government in Tripura has been under threat because as many as 27 out of 36 elected MLAs of BJP had directly came from the Congress while four from CPI (M) and one from Trinamool Congress.

Meanwhile, the move of central BJP leadership to take two important BJP MLAs of Tripura for Delhi election campaign in northeast dominated pockets made party workers happy.

According to reports, along with other important leaders including the chief ministers of BJP ruled states of northeast, Sudip Roybarman and Ashis Saha would campaign for BJP candidates in the next ten days.

In the preparatory meeting Roybarman in his short speech articulated the success of Modi government so far as development of northeast is concerned.

He also made a comparison of BJP and Congress, which attracted the central leadership, said a senior BJP leader here, adding that the decision of BJP central committee to unite the leaders would help the government in Tripura and party as well.