PM Modi to address two rallies in poll-bound Tripura on Saturday

Modi is scheduled to address the first rally at Ambassa in Dhalai district around 12 noon, and the second at Gomati, which is likely to start at 3 pm, the party's state media-in-charge Sunit Sarkar said.

Agartala:Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address two election rallies in favour of BJP candidates in Tripura on Saturday, a party leader said. Chief Minister Manik Saha, BJP state election in-charge Mahesh Sharma, and the party's state unit president Rajib Bhattacharya would receive the PM at Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport here, he said.

Modi is scheduled to address the first rally at Ambassa in Dhalai district around 12 noon, and the second at Gomati, which is likely to start at 3 pm, the party's state media-in-charge Sunit Sarkar said. The prime minister is likely to visit Tripura again on February 13, Sarkar added. Elections to the 60-member assembly will be held on February 16. Security has been beefed up across the state in view of the PM's visit on Saturday, a police officer said.

Earlier, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed 'Vijay Sankalp' rally in west Agartala and lashed out in on Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), saying that they were like musical instruments which were beyond repair. "In Tripura, one party is a flute and the other is a sitar. The Congress is a flute with many holes in it while the CPI(M) is a sitar with broken strings. They do not have any melody left in them."

"During the CPI(M) regime, fear, hunger and corruption were rife in this state and it wasn't until the BJP came to power that things changed for the better," the Defence minister said. (with Agency inputs)