As the Election Commission is expected to announce poll schedules for byelections in the Agartala, Town Bordowali, Surma and Jubarajnagar Assembly constituencies in Tripura soon, the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress and the CPI(M) have announced their decision to contest.
The first two seats fell vacant after the resignation of BJP MLAs Sudip Roy Barman and Asish Kumar Saha. The election to Surma seat became necessary after the Assembly Speaker disqualified BJP MLA Ashis Das under the anti-defection law.
Mr. Barman and Mr. Saha resigned from the BJP and joined the Congress, while Mr. Das switched to the Trinamool Congress without giving up his seat.
Jubarajnagar constituency became vacant due to the death of veteran CPI(M) MLA Ramendra Chandra Debnath. The number of CPI(M) MLAs in the Tripura Assembly now stands at 15.
State PCC president Birajit Sinha on Saturday confirmed that the party would nominate Mr. Barman and Mr. Saha in their home constituencies. He said the party had not yet decided on its nominees for the Surma and Jubarajnagar seats.
Senior State BJP leaders are reportedly consulting central leaders to finalise the list of candidates in the four Assembly segments. Sources said BJP State vice-president Rajib Bhattacharjee, general secretary Papia Datta, Agartala Municipal Corporation Mayor Dipak Majumder and party’s former youth front leader Kamal Dey were prospective candidates for the prestigious Agartala and Town Bardowali constituencies.
After the resignation of the two MLAs and the disqualification of one, the BJP’s strength in the 60-member Assembly has come down to 33.
The Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA) led by royal scion Pradyot Kishore Manikya has hinted that it might put up a candidate for Agartala in view of the considerable indigenous population in the constituency.
