Introducing Sunil Deodhar: The man behind BJP's landmark Tripura win
With the BJP's historic win in the north-east, it will now rule across 21 Indian states. In Tripura, the national party won over 40/60 Assembly seats, defeating the Left Front for the first time in 25 years with its vote-share peaking at 42.8%, 41.3% higher than five years ago. However, little is known about the man behind this astounding win. Here, meet Sunil Deodhar.
Who is he?
The 52-year-old Mumbaikar was made the party's Tripura state in-charge in November 2014. Previously, he has worked as an RSS pracharak in Meghalaya for eight years, handled PM Narendra Modi's 2014 Lok Sabha campaign in Varanasi and been a key player in the 2013 Delhi elections. The former RSS man also speaks fluent Bengali and has mastered Tripura's native language Kokborok, reported Maharashtra Times.
How did Deodhar help?
Banking on his experience of working in the northeast since 1991, Deodhar worked relentlessly to turn upside down Manik Sarkar's clean, non-corrupt image. Since Congress was never in the race, he made locals believe that BJP was their only way out. He would spend at least 15 days a month in Tripura, working on creating an invincible footprint for BJP in the state.
Will he be the next chief minister of Tripura?
Though he was deeply involved in it all right up to the booth-level, he doesn't want to be the next Tripura CM. He says even if offered the position, he would decline it and is just grateful for BJP president Amit Shah's faith in him.
