CM Leads BJP’s Aggressive Campaign for Civic Polls, Predicts Historic Victory: Ratan Lal Nath Says BJP Councillors May Play Opposition’s Role If Corporation Becomes Opposition-Free
By Our Correspondent
Agartala, November 14, 2026
With the Tripura municipal elections approaching, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has intensified its election campaign across Agartala, bringing senior leaders, ministers and organisational functionaries onto the streets in an effort to secure a decisive mandate. Chief Minister Prof. Dr. Manik Saha has personally joined door-to-door campaigning in several wards of the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC), expressing confidence that the BJP will achieve a historic victory in the forthcoming civic elections.
On Friday, the Chief Minister campaigned extensively in Wards 32 and 33 under his own 8-Town Bardowali Assembly constituency. He participated in door-to-door public outreach programmes and sought support for BJP candidates Abhijit Mullick, contesting from Ward 33, and Sanjay Saha, the party's candidate in Ward 32. Sanjay Saha is a former Mandal president of the BJP's 8-Town Bardowali organisational unit.
Addressing the campaign, Dr. Manik Saha expressed strong optimism about the BJP's electoral prospects, stating that the results of the 2026 municipal elections would create a unique example. He appealed to residents to extend their support to BJP candidates and personally interacted with people during the campaign.
The Chief Minister also highlighted the development initiatives undertaken by the BJP-led government over the past five years, particularly in Agartala Municipal Corporation and other urban local bodies across Tripura. According to him, considerable progress has been achieved in urban infrastructure, road construction and renovation, expansion of drinking water facilities, drainage systems, sanitation and other civic amenities.
He maintained that the government has undertaken various development-oriented programmes with the objective of improving the living standards of urban residents. He also indicated that the government intends to continue its development initiatives in the coming days.
Dr. Saha further stated that the BJP has drawn up plans to intensify its election campaign in different municipal bodies across the state from November 15. He also indicated that campaigning would be extended to various urban areas, including from Sabroom to Panisagar, to mobilise public support for the party's candidates.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and Minister Ratan Lal Nath has made a politically significant observation regarding the possibility of an opposition-free municipal corporation. Speaking to journalists after attending a BJP workers' conference organised in support of the party's candidate Bishwajit Roy in Ward 10 of Agartala Municipal Corporation, Nath said that even if the opposition parties failed to win representation in the corporation, BJP councillors themselves would play the role of the opposition.
His remarks have added a new dimension to the political debate surrounding the forthcoming municipal elections. The minister indicated that the question of such an arrangement would require consideration and approval from the Chief Minister and the party's state leadership.
The workers' conference in Ward 10 was attended by Minister Ratan Lal Nath, BJP candidates and other party leaders, including BJP's West District leadership. The meeting was organised as part of the party's ward-level campaign strategy to strengthen organisational coordination and mobilise workers ahead of polling.
Nath's statement is particularly noteworthy in the context of the BJP's aggressive campaign and its apparent expectation of a substantial electoral victory. His suggestion that BJP councillors could perform an opposition-like role if opposition parties failed to secure seats has also raised questions about the nature of political accountability and the functioning of democratic opposition within elected civic institutions.
In another campaign programme, Minister Ratan Lal Nath and other senior BJP leaders participated in organisational activities to consolidate support for the party's candidates. The BJP has been organising ward-based workers' conferences alongside door-to-door campaigning to reach voters directly.
The involvement of Chief Minister Manik Saha, senior ministers and other prominent party leaders demonstrates the importance the BJP leadership is attaching to the municipal elections. Rather than leaving the campaign entirely to local candidates, the party has deployed its top leadership to campaign at the grassroots level and seek direct public support.
The BJP's campaign is centred on its claims of development in urban infrastructure and civic services over the past five years. However, the opposition parties are also expected to use the municipal elections to raise questions concerning civic administration, public services, accountability and the performance of urban local bodies.
With the campaign gathering momentum, the forthcoming municipal elections are emerging as an important political test for the ruling BJP as well as the opposition parties in Tripura. The outcome will not only determine the composition of the state's urban local bodies but will also provide an indication of the political mood in urban Tripura ahead of the next Assembly elections.
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