Agartala: The BJP and TIPRA Motha on Thursday began a second round of seat-sharing talks ahead of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) Village Committee elections, with the two alliance partners seeking to resolve differences over candidate adjustments and withdrawal of nominations.
The meeting was held at the State Guest House in Agartala and was chaired by senior BJP leader and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ratan Lal Nath.
The fresh round of talks followed an earlier meeting between the two parties that failed to produce an agreement. The discussions are focused primarily on adjusting candidates and withdrawing nominations in constituencies where both parties have fielded candidates, with TIPRA Motha having submitted the highest number of nominations.
The BJP delegation included ministers Sushanta Chowdhury and party leader Bipin Debbarma, besides MLA Pramod Reang. TIPRA Motha was represented by Minister of State Brisaketu Debbarma and MLAs Ranjit Debbarma, Biswajit Kaloi and Philip Reang, along with TTAADC Chief Executive Member Runiel Debbarma.
The Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), another NDA ally, was absent from the meeting.
The development comes after IPFT general secretary Swapan Debbarma was allegedly attacked by miscreants linked to TIPRA Motha two days earlier. The incident prompted the IPFT to raise concerns over the law-and-order situation in the state.
According to the Tripura State Election Commission, 10,958 nomination papers were filed by 10,936 candidates for 4,597 Village Committee seats. Following scrutiny, 10,889 nominations were found valid.
TIPRA Motha has the largest number of valid nominations at 4,361, followed by the CPI(M) with 2,456 and the BJP with 1,971. The Congress has 465 valid nominations, while the IPFT has 483 and the CPI four. Independents, minor parties and other unrecognised groups account for another 1,149 nominations.
The last date for withdrawal of candidature is September 11, after which the final shape of the contest is expected to become clearer.
The Village Committee elections are scheduled for September 28 across 587 committees under the TTAADC. Counting of votes will take place on October 5, with the election process scheduled to conclude by October 8.
The elections are significant for the BJP and TIPRA Motha, which are partners in the Tripura government but have faced differences over electoral strategy and the distribution of seats in tribal areas.
For the upcoming Village Committee polls, the two parties are attempting to avoid direct contests against each other in constituencies where both have filed nominations, while maintaining their broader alliance.
Security arrangements are also being strengthened for the elections. Seventy-four companies of Central Armed Police Forces have been sanctioned, with 24 companies already deployed in Tripura and the remaining personnel expected to arrive shortly.
Also Read: China and India can make Greater BRICS a force for the Global South