The leader, who was a Samajwadi Party MLA before being associated with Congress, denied that he was a "party hopper" and that he quit Congress to fuel development of his constituency.
"I was impressed with the chief minister's development oriented politics and his humble style of functioning. I joined BJP for the development of my constituency, which remained backward for years because of the feudal mindset of few Congress leaders," Tripathi, who recently won the Maihar bypoll with a record margin of over 28,000 votes, told PTI.
Referring to Congress leaders, he alleged, "...These leaders never wanted people to get education and always thought that if they become literate and aware, then they will question them. Therefore, these leaders with feudalistic mindset never took interest in the development of rural areas."
"But time is changing and people are voting for development by rising above all these things," he added.
He said chief minister's announcement in Maihar yesterday to provide free education to SC students in government colleges, including engineering and medical, will benefit BJP in a major way.