A former RSS member, Deb worked in Delhi for over two decades. He was private secretary to various ministers of the first NDA government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In 2015, he was brought to Tripura by Amit Shah and Sunil V. Deodhar to take over the reigns of the state BJP. Deb is likely to become the chief minister of Tripura, if the BJP wins. Edited excerpts:
You are quite unaware of the state politics in Tripura.
No, I was born here and studied here. Then I moved to Delhi and worked there till 2015. But, I was not disconnected from the state.
You faced problems when you came here last year.
Yes, there were some problems within the party initially. But, that has stablised now. People have accepted me wholeheartedly.
How did the BJP grow in Tripura suddenly?
We worked hard under Sunil Deodharji and Himanta Biswa Sharma, who is in charge of North East Democratic Alliance. We connected with people swiftly. Last year, the number of members was 10,000. This year, it has crossed 3.5 lakh.
But, you are appeasing Muslims. You donated 05 lakh to a madrassa.
No, when I went there the people at the madrassa told me they don’t have money to pay the teachers. Just see the situation under the rule of a party which talks about Muslims’ development. I did what I could, and paid 05 lakh from the party fund.
Are Muslims with you?
Why Muslims alone? Muslims, tribals and the young generation in both towns and villages. There is a wave in favour of the BJP in Tripura.
How many seats will you win?
We are targeting 45 to 50. Let’s see. New voters are 2.5 per cent. Thirty percent are floating voters, and then there would be major slide from the left which would take our votes to more than 50 per cent.
But, you were 1.5 per cent last time. Will it be possible to come to power?
Just wait and see. Once we have sealed the alliance with IPFT, it will be easy. They [the left] won 30 seats last time with less than 3,000 votes. Eighteen seats with less than 1,800 votes. All such votes will come to us. The left front would have to go this time.
But, you have aligned with IPFT which would like to divide the state.
We will not allow that under any circumstance.
