Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah will address election rallies ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in Tripura on April 15 and 17 next, said BJP spokesperson Subrata Chakraborty on Wednesday.

As per the scheduled Amit Shah is expected to address a gathering seeking vote for  joint candidate of BJP-IPFT-Tipra Motha Kriti Singh Debbarma on April 15 at Kumarghat in Unakoti district under East Tripura Parliamentary Constituency , where election is scheduled to be held on April 26 in the second of Lok Sabha elections.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address an election rally at Swami Vivekananda stadium in Agartala on April 17 under West Tripura Parliamentary constituency for BJP candidate and former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was earlier scheduled to join campaigning in the state on April 7, will be visiting the state on April 15, two days before the Prime Minister arrives, the party confirmed.

Speaking to reporters, BJP state chief spokesperson Subrata Chakraborty said, “The BJP is conducting campaigns for the forthcoming Parliamentary elections far and wide in Tripura along with the rest of the country. People are joining the BJP in different parts of the state in large numbers and support for Modiji is increasing steadily.”

He added, “Modiji has visited Tripura before and has fulfilled all promises made to the people of this state. He fulfilled his promise of the HIRA model of development. Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be visiting Tripura on April 17. He will be visiting Tripura and addressing a campaign at 1 pm at the Swami Vivekananda Maidan in Agartala.

On Amit Shah’s visit, Chakraborty said, “We are holding positive talks with the office of the Union Home Minister for his visit on April 15 when he might address a rally at Kumarghat. The final details will be communicated to us soon by his office.”

The two Parliamentary seats of Tripura – West Tripura and East Tripura – are scheduled to undergo polling in two phases; the first one on April 19 in the first phase and the second, on April 26 in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections.

Eighteen candidates are scheduled to contest in the two seats, nine from each. However, the contest is expected to be primarily between the BJP and INDIA Bloc, where the Opposition alliance partners Congress and CPI (M) have shared the two seats amongst themselves. Congress candidate is contesting from the West Tripura seat while the Left party will do so from the East Tripura ST-reserved Parliamentary constituency.