Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha Thursday said development with a special focus on the overall upliftment of indigenous people will the main poll plank of the BJP-IPFT combine in the ensuing election to the north-eastern state's assembly. In an interview to PTI, he also decried the 'Greater Tipraland' demand espoused by rival Tipra Motha party floated by the scion of the former royal family of the tribal state Pradyot Manikya DebBarma. Saha who became the chief minister of the state replacing Biplab Kumar Deb just nine months before the crucial elections, claimed that the party will get a comfortable majority in the election and will form the next government on its own strength. The BJP is contesting in 55 seats in the 60-member Assembly and has left five seats for its ally IPFT, which has been hamstrung by defections to another trib; party- Tipra Motha. "During the electioneering, the party leaders right from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Union Home Minister Amit Shah to party
BJP president J P Nadda will address two election rallies in poll-bound Tripura on Friday, a senior party leader said. Election to the 60-member Tripura Assembly is scheduled to be held on February 16. The BJP has fielded candidates in 55 seats and has left five seats for its ally IPFT. "Party president J P Nadda is scheduled to arrive here on Friday to address election rallies at Kumarghat and Amarpur in favour of party candidates. His programme schedules are yet to be received", BJP Tripura unit media in-charge Sunit Sarkar said on Thursday. Besides, Union Minister Smriti Irani, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, opposition leader in West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari and several party leaders from Bengal will also campaign for BJP candidates in the state. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to visit the state on January 6 to join the campaign, he said, adding Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is also scheduled to arrive on February 7 to campaign for the
The CPI-M led Left Front and the Congress announced that both parties would withdraw their candidates fielded against each other in the Feb 16 Tripura elections, as per their seat-sharing agreement
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Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to address a series of rallies in Tripura on February 6 and 12 in his first political tour of the northeastern state after its assembly poll schedule was announced by the Election Commission. The BJP-ruled state is scheduled to vote for its 60-member assembly on February 16. Two other northeastern states, Nagaland and Meghalaya, will go to polls on February 27. The counting of votes for all three states is on March 2. Shah will also be holding public meetings in Nagaland and Meghalaya, and the schedule is being finalised, party sources said. The three poll-bound northeastern states may be small in terms of their electoral size but hold larger political significance. While the BJP is pulling out all the stops to retain power in Tripura and expand its footprints in the two other states, the Congress and the Left are trying to recapture their lost influence, especially in Tripura.
Earlier, on January 27, amid the buzz of a possible alliance with the ruling BJP, Pradyot Deb Barma clarified that 'no alliance' will be formed with anyone in the upcoming state Assembly polls
BJP announced its 54 candidates for the Tripura Assembly election on Saturday. Voting for 60 assembly seats is to be held on February 16
The BJP on Saturday announced the names of its 54 candidates for the February 16 Tripura Assembly polls, fielding Chief Minister Manik Saha from Town Bordowali and Union minister Pratima Bhoumik from Dhanpur again. Party leaders Anil Baluni and Sambit Patra named 48 candidates at a press conference at the BJP headquarters here and another list of six more was released later. The seats included some where the party's ally and tribal outfit Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) had contested last time. In Agartala, Chief Minister Manik Saha announced the seat-sharing deal with IPFT which has been allocated five constituencies, four less than what it got in the 2018 polls. Saha told a press conference that the BJP will contest in 55 constituencies. The IPF's power has considerably waned with the rise of TIPRA Motha - a regional party founded by former Congress leader and royal scion Pradyot Deb Barman. The BJP had reached out to the TIPRA leadership for a tie-up but the regiona
In a major boost to ruling BJP ahead of February 16 Tripura Assembly polls, CPI(M) MLA Moboshar Ali, senior Congress leader Billal Mia and few other leaders are likely to join BJP
Top leaders of the BJP including party chief J P Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and others have met here to finalise candidates for the upcoming Tripura assembly elections. The Thursday meeting was also attended by Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, BJP's state incharge Mahesh Sharma and Rajya Sabha MP Biplab Deb. Earlier in the day, BJP's Tripura unit core group members met at party leader and northeast incharge Sambit Patra's residence. The BJP is likely to finalise its candidates for the Tripura assembly elections on Friday in its central election committee meeting. The 60-member Tripura assembly will go to polls on February 16. The last date for filling nominations is January 30. The counting of votes will be taken up on March 2. In 2018, the BJP formed the government for the first time in Tripura, ending the 20-year run of the CPI(M).
Top leaders of the BJP including party chief J P Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and others met here on Thursday to finalise candidates for the upcoming Tripura assembly elections. The meeting was also attended by Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, BJP's state incharge Mahesh Sharma and Rajya Sabha MP Biplab Deb. Earlier in the day, BJP's Tripura unit core group members met at party leader and northeast incharge Sambit Patra's residence. The BJP is likely to finalise its candidates for the Tripura assembly elections on Friday in its central election committee meeting. The 60-member Tripura assembly will go to polls on February 16. The last date for filling nominations is January 30. The counting of votes will be taken up on March 2. In 2018, the BJP formed the government for the first time in Tripura, ending the 20-year run of the CPI(M).
The Left Front on Wednesday night announced the names of candidates for 47 of the 60 Assembly seats in the upcoming election in Tripura, said Left Front convenor Narayan Kar at a press meet
The three poll-bound Northeastern states may be small in terms of their electoral size but hold larger political significance. Aditi Phadnis looks at the political state of play in these states
The three state assemblies have a strength of 60 members each
Asking the Election Commission (EC) to ensure free and fair elections in Tripura, former chief minister Manik Sarkar alleged the poll panel set a bad precedent in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and the last by-elections as people could not vote freely. His comment came just two days before the scheduled arrival of the full bench of the EC in the state to review preparedness for the assembly polls. "You have set a bad precedent in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and by-elections to the four assembly constituencies in Tripura. Genuine voters could not exercise their franchise freely on these two occasions," Sarkar said, addressing a programme organised by CPI(M)-backed trade union CITU at the Vivekananda Ground here on Sunday. He claimed that when the CPI(M) tried to draw the attention of EC functionaries to the alleged misconduct of BJP workers, "the EC officials said they were not responsible for what happened outside polling stations and the police would look into such grievances". "This time,
Central paramilitary forces have started arriving in Tripura as Assembly elections are due in the northeastern state early next year, a senior police officer said on Wednesday. Five companies of CRPF arrived on Tuesday and they will be deployed in the districts to perform election related duties while 50 more companies are expected to arrive by next 48 hours. As many as 100 companies of central paramilitary forces - CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP and SSB will be deployed in the northeastern state to ensure free and fair elections. "Five companies of central forces have arrived and 50 more companies are on their way to the state. By next week, around 100 companies of central forces will be available in the state", the officer said. The Centre has earmarked 100 companies of forces for conducting free and fair elections, he said, adding all the central forces will be deployed district wise to beef up security arrangements for the elections. The officer said, "the district administrations have
The joint initiative' of the CPI(M) to bring all secular and democratic forces ahead of the Assembly elections in Tripura to defeat the BJP has reached its final stage, the Left party's state secretary Jitendra Choudhury claimed on Tuesday. However, Choudhury did not name the parties that will be associated with the CPI(M)'s move. Details of the joint initiative will be made known very shortly. It is aimed at defeating the BJP in the Assembly elections due in February, he told PTI. But, the senior leader said, the initiative should not be considered as political adjustment or alignment. For the CPI(M), win or defeat in elections doesn't matter much. We are working hard to restore democracy in the state where democratic values have been throttled in the past 58 months of BJP rule, Choudhury said. The BJP and the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) fought the Assembly elections together in 2018 and wrested power from the Left Front. The party's priority is to restore democr
The ruling BJP in Tripura will organise a rath yatra' across the state from the first of January, as the saffron party gears up for the assembly polls due early next year, a party leader said on Monday. A three-member committee headed by Information and Cultural Affairs Minister Sushanta Chowdhury has been constituted to oversee preparations for the yatra, he said. Election to the 60-member Tripura Assembly is due to be held in February. One yatra will set out from North Tripura district while another from South Tripura district, BJP media in-charge Sunit Sarkar said. The party's chief spokesperson, Subarta Chakraborty, said the objective of the yatra is to seek the blessings of people in the run-up to the polls. We do believe that people will join the rath yatra' to show solidarity towards the party that has addressed their basic needs, he said. For the first time, a political party will organise such a yatra in the northeastern state ahead of an election, party sources ...
Asserting that the BJP has a long tradition of maintaining coalition dharma, the party on Thursday said it will continue its alliance with the IPFT in the next Assembly elections, slated early next year. The saffron party and the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) fought the Assembly elections together in 2018 and wrested power from the Left Front. The BJP pays respect to its allies, the saffron camp never throws out its electoral partners. Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had formed the National Democratic Alliance government... and the NDA still exists, state party chief Rajib Bhattacharjee told PTI. The BJP will continue its electoral alliance with the IPFT as the understanding was inked before the 2018 Assembly elections, the BJP leader said. The BJP-IPFT combine swept to power in the state in 2018 winning 43 seats in the 60-member assembly. The BJP bagged 35 seats and the IPFT 8. The electoral bond will continue with the IPFT , he said adding the BJP's cent
PM Modi will kick-start the campaign for 2023 assembly elections in Tripura during a day-long visit on Dec 18