BJP and allies to contest Tripura village committee polls together, chief minister says

The Bharatiya Janata Party, the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura and TIPRA Motha will contest Tripura’s autonomous district council village committee elections together, Chief Minister Manik Saha said after returning from New Delhi.

The partners have yet to finalize how they will share seats. Saha said the decision followed a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and TIPRA Motha founder Pradyot Kishore Debbarma. The election is scheduled for September 28.

"We had a meeting in New Delhi. Discussion on the tripartite accord was also done. As poll date has been announced, the BJP, IPFT and TIPRA Motha have decided to contest the TTAADC village committees polls together. And we shall sort out about the tripartite accord in the next month," Saha said.

The tripartite agreement, signed by the central government, the Tripura government and TIPRA Motha in 2024, addresses tribal issues involving history, land and political rights, economic development, culture, identity and language. A joint working group was to work on those matters, and stakeholders were asked to avoid protests while the agreement is implemented.

Polling will take place from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. across 4,597 seats in 587 committees. Candidates must file nominations by September 8, with scrutiny on September 9 and withdrawals permitted until September 11. A possible repoll is set for October 3, followed by counting on October 5. The electorate includes 482,041 men, 479,930 women and six third-gender voters. The committees’ five-year terms ended in 2021, but the election was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

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We had a meeting in New Delhi. Discussion on the tripartite accord was also done. As poll date has been announced, the BJP, IPFT and TIPRA Motha have decided to contest the TTAADC village committees polls together. And we shall sort out about the tripartite accord in the next month.