Agartala, Jan. 3 (PTI): Senior BJP leader Biplab Deb on Monday claimed the people of Tripura wanted a change of the then Left Front government in the state in the 2003 and 2008 elections but leaders of the opposition Congress did not respect their aspirations.
Addressing a Bijoy Sankalpa rally in Unakoti district's Fatikroy area, he said the recent joint statement issued by the CPI(M) and the Congress calling for the defeat of the BJP in the 2023 elections revealed the closeness the two parties have shared over the years.
"The then opposition party (Congress) was friends with the ruling party (CPI(M)). Today their understanding has come to the fore as they issued a joint statement urging the people to restore democracy," said Deb, now a Rajya Sabha MP after quitting as the first BJP chief minister of the state.
BJP only had a 1.5 per cent vote share before the 2018 elections when it routed the CPI(M)-led Left Front government of 25 years, he said.
"Due to well-coordinated efforts of the party leaders, people blessed the BJP to form a government. History was created in Tripura," he said.
He urged party workers to reach out to CPI(M) supporters and make them aware of the work done by the BJP-led government in the state.
"All welfare programmes are being implemented properly after the double engine government came to power," he said, adding that farmers' income has increased substantially.
Deb also appealed to government employees and pensioners to spend instead of investing, so that the economy of the state can grow faster.