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Agartala, December 14 (IANS): Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Sunday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has unwavering faith in its ‘Pristha Pramukhs’ and grassroots workers, asserting that trust in leadership at every level is the key to strengthening the party.
‘Pristha Pramukh’ is a BJP party worker who is in charge of a single page of the electoral roll in a certain area.
Addressing the ‘Pristha Pramukh’ conference of Mohanpur Mandal (assembly constituency) in West Tripura district, the Chief Minister said that the BJP’s organisational strength lies in its connection with ordinary people and its cadre-based structure.
"Our party is not like others. We are not confined to ideological posturing. We are ordinary people who believe in the common masses. I do not want to forget my roots," Saha said, contrasting the BJP’s functioning with that of the Left parties.
He credited local MLA and Power and Agriculture Minister Ratan Lal Nath as the main architect behind the organisation of the programme and recalled his own journey within the BJP after joining the party.
"After joining the BJP, I worked as a pracharak and later took up responsibilities as Pristha Pramukh and during the membership drive. I once said I could enrol three lakh members, but eventually the party enrolled nearly seven lakh members across the state,” the Chief Minister said.
He claimed that the Communists do not truly accept democratic values despite their rhetoric and recalled incidents of violence during the CPI (M) regime. Referring to the Kalyanpur (in Khowai district) incident, CM Saha said he was deeply moved during his recent visit to the area, where 26 innocent people, including children and elderly persons, were brutally killed by the militants.
"There is still deep anger among the people over that barbaric incident. During the CPI (M) rule, killings were rampant, particularly around elections, creating an atmosphere of fear,” he alleged.
Emphasising the need to build faith in leadership at all levels, including ‘Pristha Pramukhs’, mandal and district presidents, Saha said only such trust would further strengthen the BJP.
The Chief Minister also expressed confidence in the party’s national leadership, naming BJP National President J.P. Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as guiding forces for the party.
The conference was attended by BJP state President Rajib Bhattacharjee, former Chief Minister and Lok Sabha Member Biplab Kumar Deb, Minister Ratan Lal Nath, BJP state General Secretaries Amit Rakshit and Bhagaban Das, among other leaders.
