As the talks for alliance with TIPRA Motha fell through the BJP is going to announce its candidate list this evening.
The BJP central leadership is having the final look at the candidate list that was prepared by the state leaders and party observers. The Central Election Committee will give final go ahead before the publication of the names. Sources said, there will be several new faces to join the fray with BJP ticket.
There are also speculations that CPM MLA Mobaswar Ali of Kailasahar, who was denied of CPM ticket this time for Congress candidate Birajit Sinha, may also BJP nomination. Ali is presently in Delhi and in touch with the BJP leaders.
The TIPRA Motha chairman Pradyot Kishore Debbarman who was leading the alliance talks with the BJP declared that the party would go alone in the elections and would announce its candidates’ list today only.
Several sounds of talks in Delhi between the TIPRA Motha and BJP came a cropper as Debbarman stuck to his demand for written assurance on Greater Tipraland and the ruling party found the demand of ‘Greater Tipraland’ itself was absurd.
“The Greater Tipraland idea proposes to include Tripura tribal dominated areas from Mizoram, Assam and even Bangladesh. How you can include Bangladesh territory in proposed Indian state ? No sane can ask for this which in other words mean war with Bangladesh. Besides, we are not in favour of dividing the state”, said a senior BJP leader.
The BJP leaders however expressed their confidence that even without TIPRA Motha as ally the party itself will lift comfortable majority as the Opposition Cong-CPM alliance would not be able to make any difference.
“In fact, from the very first day the opposition alliance came under attack from their party workers as they felt it was done for the personal interest of some leaders only. Now after CPM announced its list, the situation is open for all to see—there are continuous stream of desertion from Congress and CPM and all are joining BJP”, he pointed out.
“The Congress CPM alliance virtually put their last nail on their coffin”, he opined.
