Agartala/Thiruvananthapuram: Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha has taken the BJP's Kerala election campaign on the road, addressing two major election conventions in the state on Thursday as the party pushes hard ahead of the 140-seat Kerala Assembly elections scheduled for April 9.
Saha departed for Bengaluru on Wednesday afternoon and reached Kannur on Thursday morning before heading to his first campaign stop.
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Saha's first engagement was at Chandragiri Auditorium, where he addressed an election convention in support of BJP candidate Prasanth Malavayal, who is contesting the Kalpetta Assembly constituency.
He then moved to Town Junction in the Dharmadam Assembly constituency to campaign for BJP candidate K. Renith — a seat that carries added political significance as it is the constituency from which Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is seeking re-election.
"This visit marks a significant push by the BJP leadership to energise party workers and connect with voters in these key constituencies in Kerala," a BJP leader in Agartala said.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance is fielding candidates across all 140 assembly seats in Kerala. The BJP itself is contesting 99 constituencies, with its alliance partners covering the remaining seats.
The party's Kerala journey has been a gradual one. It opened its account in the state for the first time in the 2016 Assembly elections, winning the Nemom constituency in Thiruvananthapuram district — before losing the seat in 2021. In the 2021 polls, the BJP finished second in nine constituencies, signalling pockets of growing support that the party is hoping to convert this time around.
After concluding his Kerala campaign, Saha is expected to return to Agartala on Friday — where a busy electoral calendar awaits him closer to home.
Tripura is heading into elections on two fronts: the Dharmanagar Assembly by-election in North Tripura district on April 9, and the elections to the 30-member Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) on April 12.
Saha is expected to lead the BJP's campaign for both contests on his return.