Celebrations erupt in Assam, Tripura after BJP win

GUWAHATI/DIBRUGARH/AGARTALA: As news of BJP's overwhelming victory started pouring in on Thursday morning, celebrations erupted in Assam and Tripura with people taking to the streets-dancing, bursting crackers, chanting slogans and smearing one another with colours.


Jubilant cries of 'Ako Ebar Modi Sarkar' (Modi government once again) rent the air at the party headquarters in Guwahati and party offices across Assam as the saffron party bagged the maximum number of seats of the 14 Lok Sabha seats.

Hundreds of party members jammed the Atal Bihari Vajpaye Bhawan, before counting started at 8 am. In 2014, BJP had scripted its success story in the northeast by winning seven out of the 14 seats. This time, the saffron party is set to win nine seats, including the minority-dominated Karimganj (SC) seat in the Barak valley.

"We were flooded with sweets. Nearly 25,000 people came to our office to celebrate," a BJP office assistant said.

"This is the victory of the people of Assam who have expressed their trust in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Our karyakartas (workers) toiled for months. The entire country is celebrating," said Assam BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Dass.

"With the victory comes responsibility. Our government in the state and at the Centre are committed to fulfilling the aspirations of the people, who experienced the fruits of development in the last five years," Dass said.

Celebrations also marked the day at the party's northeast office at Uzanbazar. "This is the day we all longed for. Even people who are not members of BJP rejoiced," said Naba Kumar Baishya, BJP's media co-convener.

In Dibrugarh , as BJP candidate Rameswar Teli surged ahead, his supporters broke out into loud cheers. Ladoos and sweets were distributed. At the local BJP office in Amolapatty, jubilant party workers danced to drumbeats amid bursting of crackers. Similar scenes of euphoria were witnessed at the residence of chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal at Lakhinagar. "The celebrations have been on since morning. We knew BJP would win. The credit goes to the dynamic leadership of Narendra Modi," said youth leader Parag Dutta.

In contrast, the Congress party office at Phoolbagan was deserted throughout the day. With the defeat of the Congress candidate Paban Singh Ghatowar becoming obvious after every round of counting, supporters started thinning out.

The picture was different in the former Left bastion Tripura capital Agartala , where the city looked deserted in the morning. Shops were closed and attendance was thin in government offices. But the mood changed in the afternoon. Celebrations broke out. Chief minister Biplab Deb, his cabinet colleagues and party leaders congratulated the winners. BJP workers organised a series of rallies with Pratima Bhowmik in different locations of Tripura West and Rebati Tripura in Dhalai.

"This is the victory of the people of Tripura. They have extended support to Modiji for a better India," said Bhowmik. "The BJP-IPFT government led by chief minister Deb worked hard and was able to infuse faith in the people. Voters have rejected the conspiracy of CPM and Congress against the government. In the next five years, Tripura will see development at par with the rest of the country," she added.

Rebati Tripura, who won from the Tripura East seat, said the victory of BJP in the tribal-reserved seat has clearly indicated the faith of the indigenous people in Modi. The Communists and Congress did not do anything for the tribals. "BJP has instilled faith in the tribal population. During the next four years, the state will witness a lot of change," said Tripura.