Agartala, May 4 (IANS) Free and fair elections in West Bengal have ensured the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) victory in West Bengal, marking what Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha described as an urgent need for political change amid rising concerns over infiltration and national security.

CM Saha, along with state BJP President Rajib Bhattacharjee and other senior leaders, led a victory rally in Agartala after the Trinamool Congress-led government, headed by outgoing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, was defeated by the BJP for the first time.

Addressing the media later, the Chief Minister said that the people of West Bengal had long sought freedom from decades of alleged misgovernance, first under the Left Front and subsequently under the Trinamool Congress.

“Due to infiltration into Bengal from across the border, it had become a major national security concern,” Saha said.

He also alleged that the Trinamool Congress had captured power in the state through force and had unleashed atrocities on the people for the past 15 years.

Saha further stated that citizens of West Bengal had been deprived of “real democracy” during the 35-year Left rule and the subsequent 15-year tenure of the Trinamool Congress government.

He credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi with “liberating” the people of the state. Highlighting security concerns, he emphasised that regime change in West Bengal was essential for India’s safety and stability.

“With the BJP’s victory, peace will return. The use of Bengal as a corridor for infiltration will be stopped, and development will accelerate further under double-engine governance,” he added.

Responding to Trinamool's claims that the BJP would interfere in people’s food habits, CM Saha cited Tripura as an example.

He noted that despite the BJP being in power for the past eight years, the state (Tripura) remains one of the highest fish-consuming regions in the country.

“The BJP government in Tripura has never interfered in people’s food choices,” he said. Saha, who campaigned extensively in West Bengal during the elections, congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP national president Nitin Nabin for the party’s victory.

Apart from CM Saha, state BJP President Rajib Bhattacharjee, former Union Minister Pratima Bhowmik, several ministers, and more than 30 BJP leaders from Tripura participated in the election campaign across various districts of West Bengal.

Former Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb also played a key role as co-observer of the West Bengal elections and campaigned in the state for several months.

--IANS

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