In an urgent bid to avert a TMC overreach in Tripura, BJP rushed Party leaders including its General Secretary BL Santosh to Agartala who on Thursday held marathon meetings with party MLAs to work out a reconciliation between the Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and the Dissident groups in the State.
BJP State president Dr Manik Saha, accepted "differences" saying "we are a family, and in a family it happens sometime and has been sorted out." He, However, skirted answer to the query on TMC's attempt to poach BJP MLAs in Tripura.
BJP is apprehending that Mukul Roy back in the ruling TMC fold in West Bengal may organise defections of MLAs from the faction-ridden BJP in the state. BJP's fears are not unfounded as it was Roy in the BJP who had facilitated defections of six Congress MLAs to the BJP in 2016.BJP central leadership rushed Santhosh and its organisation secretary for the Northeast,
Ajay Jamwal,to Agartala a day before and met with Chief Minister and MLAs including 'rebels'.
Santosh reportedly held a closed door one-to-one meeting at Agartala with several BJP leaders to understand the differences and address the grievances and differences.
BJP General Secretary had discussion with MPs Pratima Bhowmik and Rebati Tripura, Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Debbarman and dissident MLAs. Tripura BJP in-charge Vinod Kumar Sonkar, who was also to arrive here, had to cancel his visit on account of a family issue.Dissident MLAs like Sudip Roy Barman, Ram Prasad Paul, Ashish Das, Sushanta Choudhury and Ashish Kumar Saha went to the party office to meet Santhosh.
Sources said he also met Deputy Chief Minister, two MPs, four Ministers and the MLAs who were called in six separate groups. Dissidents demanded replacement of state president Dr Manik Saha, expansion of Cabinet and certain changes in the organisation.
BJP leaders here, however, denied rebel activities in Tripura BJP saying senior leaders are in the state to discuss assembly poll preparations which are though two-years ago.