Tripura election 2023: BJP will cross majority mark in Tripura before 12 pm on counting day: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah expressed confidence that the BJP will win a complete majority in the Tripura assembly elections, saying that the BJP is seeking a mandate to make the state prosperous in the next five years by building on the party-led government's development initiatives.

In answer to questions regarding a possible hung assembly in Tripura, Amit Shah stated that the constituencies in Tripura are small and that "you will see that before 12 PM on counting day, the BJP would have crossed the majority mark."

In an exclusive interview with ANI, he also said that BJP's 'ChaloPaltai' slogan in the last election was not a slogan to come to power in the state but to change the situation in Tripura.

Shah said Congress and CPI-M joining hands shows that they are not in a position to defeat BJP on their own and "it is very good position" for the party.

"We will increase our seats and also our vote share in Tripura. Congress and the Communist party have come together as they have accepted that they can't defeat BJP alone. We will form government with full majority in the state," Shah said.

"'ChaloPaltai' slogan was given to change the situation in Tripura, and we've done that. Earlier when the Left was in power in Tripura, government employees were paid under Pay Commission, but we implemented the 7th Pay commission in the state without increasing fiscal deficit. We eliminated violence in Tripura and also took strict action against drugs business from across the border in the state," he added.

The BJP created a record in 2018 by ousting the Left Front government which ruled Tripura for 35 years from 1978. The state will go to the polls on February 16 for its 60-member assembly.  The BJP is contesting 55 seats while its ally Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) is contesting the remaining five seats.