Tripura autonomous tribal council elections to witness multi-corner fight

Agartala: The elections to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) on April 12 will witness multi-corner fight with all major political parties putting up candidates.

The BJP and Tipra Motha Party (TMP) have fielded candidates separately in all the 28 seats of the council after talks over seat adjustment failed, while CPI (M) and Congress are contesting in 27 and 25 seats respectively.

BJP’s ally IPFT has also fielded its nominees in 24 seats, paving the stage ready for a multi-corner electoral battle. The total number of voters of the tribal council stands at 9,62,798.

Altogether 173 candidates are in the fray for 28 seats in the TTAADC.

“Altogether 173 candidates from BJP, Tipra Motha Party (TMP), Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), CPI(M), Congress and independents are in the electoral fray for 28 seats,” secretary of state election commission, Anurag Sen told PTI.

The last date for withdrawal of nomination papers was March 28.

“We have received 181 nomination papers for 28 seats of the tribal council elections, out of which eight nominations were withdrawn on March 28, reducing the number of contesting candidates to 173,” he said.

In the 2021 elections, the TMP won 18 seats and formed the council, while the BJP, which had contested in alliance with the IPFT, secured nine seats.

Elections to the 28-member TTAADC will be held on April 12. Votes will be counted on April 17.