After being denied permission to hold rallies, Trinamool Congress on Thursday announced a 12-day-long "outreach programme" across Tripura with a target to "expose" the ruling BJP ahead of Assembly elections slated early next year.
TMC leader Sushmita Dev made the announcement at Agartala at a time the party alleged that several of its workers has been attacked by workers of ruling BJP while the administration denied permission to organise a rally on September 22, in which its leader Abhishek Banerjee was supposed to take part.
"People of Tripura have already become pro-Trinamool but the ruling BJP is desperately trying to create a gap by denying to hold rallies and creating an atmosphere of terror by attacking our party workers. But let us make it clear again to BJP today that Trinamool is not scared of such tactics. Since the administration and BJP is not allowing the people to come to us, we will go to the people and tell them about BJP's failure to meet the promises it made before 2017 Assembly elections and Trinamool's vision for Tripura," Dev, who was elected as Rajya Sabha member of TMC from Bengal recently, told reporters at Agartala.
Dev quit Congress in Assam and joined TMC in August.
Dev said the "outreach programme" will continue till October 31 and cover all eight districts, 58 blocks, 60 Assembly constituencies and 20 Municipality areas. "Slogan of our campaign will be Trinamool for Tripura. We will meet the farmers, shopkeepers, rickshawalas, autowalas, shopkeepers, traders, youths, women, students and tell them how BJP failed to fulfil their promises," she said.
"BJP government miserably failed to fulfil the promise of employment they made to the youths. As they can not face the next elections, they are creating division among communities and trying to create an atmosphere of fear among the opposition parties by attacking offices and workers," Subal Bhowmik, another TMC leader in Tripura said.
TMC has set up a 19-member steering committee to be headed by Dev, Bhowmik and Ashish Lal Singh for the campaign.
Elections for 60-member Assembly is slated in early next year. Municipal elections will also be held soon. "Trinamool will contest in every election and we will remove BJP from power for a better and developed Tripura," Dev said.
Trinamool set its eyes on Tripura after its victory in Bengal for the third time in May.
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