Home Minister Amit Shah likely to hold rallies in Tripura on Feb 6,12

Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to address a series of rallies in Tripura on February 6 and 12 in his first political tour of the northeastern state after its assembly poll schedule was announced by the Election Commission.

The BJP-ruled state is scheduled to vote for its 60-member assembly on February 16.

Two other northeastern states, Nagaland and Meghalaya, will go to polls on February 27. The counting of votes for all three states is on March 2.

Shah will also be holding public meetings in Nagaland and Meghalaya, and the schedule is being finalised, party sources said.

The three poll-bound northeastern states may be small in terms of their electoral size but hold larger political significance.

While the BJP is pulling out all the stops to retain power in Tripura and expand its footprints in the two other states, the Congress and the Left are trying to recapture their lost influence, especially in Tripura.