 "Ruling CPI-M won two Nagar Panchayats uncontested in Tripura")
Member Secretary of the state election commission, Tamal Mazumder told reporters that 886 candidates of different political parties and Independents were in the fray for the 20 civic bodies in Tripura, including the 49-member Agartala Municipal Corporation, which would go for poll on December 9.
However, in the election to 49 wards of Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) the opposition has put up candidates in all wards.
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The CPI (M) has put up 42 candidates, CPI 3, RSP 2 and Forward Bloc 2; the Congress and BJP have put up 49 candidates each. 175 candidates are in the fray for AMC, Mazumder said.
He said that security arrangements were made to ensure a free, fair and smooth election to civic bodies statewide. The central government informed that no central paramilitary Force would be dispatched in the civic body elections.
Altogether 537,968 voters, including 268,754 females, are entitled to cast their votes in the municipal elections through Electronic Voting Machines.
The Agartala municipality was elevated to the status of Agartala Municipal Corporation two years ago. The civic body was formed in princely Tripura in 1871 during the reign of Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya.
Chief minister Manik Sarkar, also CPI-M politburo member, will address altogether 24 rallies in eleven days between November 26 and December 6 in Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) area, 13 Municipal Councils and 6 Nagar Panchayats in the state, party sources said.
The state unit of BJP announced that MHRD minister Smriti Irani and Tollywood film and TV star, Roopa Ganguly would campaign for the party.
The three sitting Congress MLAs of Agartala, Sudip Roy Barman, also Leader of the opposition, Gopal Roy and Asish Saha are in the campaign.
TPCC president Birajit Sinha, also a former minister is campaigning mostly in Nagar Panchayat areas of the state.