Tripura looked unsurmountable for BJP, initially. But incisive planning and strategizing, systematic work and committed cadre did wonders for the BJP. The BJP’s campaign machinery worked like a well-oiled machine. Leading from the front were Sunil Deodhar, BJP Tripura Organising Secretary, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam Finance Minister, and Biplab Deb, state BJP president, who is likely to be named chief minister.
People were yearning for a change and one could sense the deep resentment the people had for the CPI(M). The much-hyped high human development indices don’t reflect on the ground. In 24 years, the CPI(M) has turned Tripura into a godforsaken place. In tribal areas, people die of hunger; for everything right from ration card to admission in upper primary school, one needs CPI(M)’s intervention.
In less than three years, the party has managed to build a formidable organization registering its presence in every nook and corner of the party. The architect of the strategy was Sunil Deodhar, Tripura BJP Organising Secretary. According , the party has set up committees in all booths and has appointed Panna Pramukhs. What Deodhar had brought into the party is a killer instinct and sense of urgency.
Deodhar has deployed a legion of full-timers drawn mostly from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh to manage the party work at macro level and educated local youths to coordinate work at micro level. His efforts have started showing results. In a matter of three years, the Saffron party has managed to build a formidable party structure that’s giving a tough challenge to the CPI(M). Now, the BJP has committees in all polling booths across the state. It has fanned out 42,000 Panna Pramukhs to coordinate sub-booth level activities. More names are being added to the list. Deodhar says this exercise has helped them weed out about 35,000 fake voters from the list.
What made the BJP’s job easier was the rising tide of public disenchantment with Manik Sarkar-led Left Front government that has been ruling the state for the last 24 years. The cancellation of appointment of 10,323 teachers by the Supreme Court has not only dented the government’s image but has come with a political cost for the party. A slew of other corruption charges and scams and involvement of CPI(M) leaders in the Rose Valley chit fund scam have helped BJP to tear apart Manik Sarkar’s paragon-of-probity image. Making geo-tagging mandatory for MGNREGA assets has blown the lid off a major scam of misappropriation of Central funds. Besides, bourgeoning unemployment and underdevelopment are other challenges that the state government had failed to address.
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