Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma while addressing a public meeting in Banamalipur said that Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) built the Ram Temple after removing Babur’s occupation at Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya.

The Assam Chief Minister was in Tripura on Friday, claiming that Babur had captured the place where Lord Ram was born.

«We had resolved to construct Ram Mandir at Ram Janmabhoomi if our Government comes to power…Babur had occupied the land where Lord Ram was born. Today we removed Babur and started the construction of a grand Ram Temple,» said the Assam Chief Minister.

Mr Sarma further praised the efforts made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for peace and harmony in the country.

He said, «People did not have faith earlier. People thought communal clashes between Hindus and Muslims would emerge if someone initiated the construction of the Ram Temple. Look at Modi ji now. On the one hand, Ram Temple is being constructed; on the other hand, the brotherhood between Hindus and Muslims has not been affected. The country is progressing as a result.»

Meanwhile, Mr Sarma on Friday also exuded confidence that BJP «will win with an even bigger vote margin when polls are conducted in Tripura due later this month».

Mr Sarma also claimed that the opposition Congress and CPI (M) will be wiped out in the state. He made these remarks at Suryamani Nagar in Tripura.

Meanwhile, the BJP is likely to release its election manifesto for Tripura in the next week.

BJP posted a stunning victory in Tripura in the 2018 Assembly elections, a Left bastion with Manik Sarkar being its Chief Minister for over two decades. After its poll victory, BJP appointed Biplab Deb as Tripura’s Chief Minister and in May 2022 replaced him with Manik Saha as the Chief Minister.

The party is preparing to register another win in Tripura and has struck an alliance with its former ally Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) which has fielded its candidates at five assembly seats.

For the elections at 60 Assembly seats in the northeastern state, which are slated to be held on February 16, the BJP has fielded 55 candidates.

For the first time, 11 women candidates have been given tickets in the state assembly election.

Tripura is slated to go to Assembly polls on February 16. Votes will be counted on March 2 along with Nagaland and Meghalaya.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)