Tripura Assembly elections: FM Arun Jaitley releases BJP's 'Vision Document'

AGARTALA: Ahead of the Assembly polls, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday released the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) 'Vision Document' for Tripura.

Last week, a party leader had said that the Finance Minister will release the 'Vision Document' on February 12.

"As implementation of the recommendations of the Seventh Central Pay Commission (CPC) for the Tripura government employees would be one of the key poll promise of BJP-IPFT alliance, the release of the party's 'Vision Document' by Jaitley would be an important political step," Assam Minister and BJP in-charge of Tripura elections Himanta Biswa Sarma had said.

"If the CPC is to be implemented for the state government employees, support of Jaitleyji is paramount. The 'Vision Document' is superior to the traditional poll manifesto."

During Assam and Manipur assembly elections, the BJP had released similar "Vision Documents" detailing the plans and aims of the party's vision after assuming in power.

Sarma hinted at absorbing 10,323 government teachers, facing axe, within the framework of the law and hiking of minimum wage up to Rs 300.

Last year, the Supreme Court had uphold a Tripura High Court verdict to terminate the jobs of 10,323 government teachers due to some indiscretions. But following the state government's appeal, the services of these teachers have been extended up to June this year by the apex court.

The northeastern state of Tripura is going to polls on February 18 while the counting of votes will be done on March 3.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) has a strong foothold in Tripura and is in power for the past 25 years.

The incumbent Chief Minister Manik Sarkar is at the helm for the past 19 years. He held the term for the fourth time after the party swept away the 2013 assembly elections.

In the last polls in 2013, the CPI (M) managed to bag an overwhelming majority with 51 seats, while the rest was shared by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Congress party.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which did not win even a single seat in the last polls, has been working hard to overthrow the CPI (M) rule this time. Six Congress MLAs, who first joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC), switched over to the BJP in August last year.

Apart from this, there are three major tribal parties in Tripura- the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) and National Conference of Tripura (NCT).

(With agency inputs)