BJP will form government in Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura: Rudy

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy on Monday voiced confidence that his party will form the next government in Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura on its own.

Tripura will go to the polls on February 18, followed by Nagaland and Meghalaya on February 27. The counting of votes is slated on March 3.

"The BJP has marched ahead in forming government from nine states in 2009 to 19 states now on its own and with the coalition partners. We are going to add three more, first from Meghalaya, Tripura, and Nagaland, and the fourth is Karnataka," Rudy told journalists here.

The former Union Minister, who was in Shillong drumming up support for party candidates contesting from the urban assembly constituencies of East Shillong, South Shillong, North Shillong and Pynthorumkhrah, said: "In Meghalaya, I can read the pulse of change and it looks like people have made up their minds for a change as we have witnessed across the country."

"The Congress has no vision, it has lost foothold across the country and last few states are crumbling and one of them is Meghalaya," he said adding that the BJP has a clear manifesto - development.

"In our manifesto, we will include rural development which is our topmost priority besides employment, industrialisation, youth empowerment, tourism and employment," Ruddy added.

To a query on a possibility of a fractured mandate in Meghalaya, he said: "We do not believe in fractured mandate as we will have a majority. Do not get surprise by my confidence. I have been handling elections for last 30 years and we are confident of forming the BJP government in Meghalaya."

On Act East Policy, Rudy said major focus is being laid on Meghalaya in particular in view of the evolved and progressive society and presence of conscious and vibrant youth.

"But sadly, the feedback that we have been getting in Delhi is dismal - the governments in the state are not performing and the only positive symptoms of development were the work of Union government which are the good highways.

"The state has missed out so much and while other states are already talking about bullet trains and metro, unfortunately Meghalaya is still talking about rural development," he said, Aattacking the Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance government.

--IANS

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