A “battle royale” between the ruling BJP and the challenger TMC alongside the CPI (M), which once ruled Tripura with an iron grip, is expected to take place in the elections for the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) and 13 other civic organizations in Tripura Thursday amid trials, arrests and allegations of attack by political parties.
The ruling BJP, which voted for all seats in the citizens’ elections in Tripura, has already won 112 of the 334 undisputed seats in the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) and in 19 municipal bodies.
Nonetheless, a three-way battle for the remaining seats is expected to break out in light of the high-tension drama leading up to the elections, with TMC sending its leaders to Tripura and BJP resisting politically.
For the TMC, a strong presence in Agartala and elsewhere in the northeastern state is vital as it hopes to overthrow the BJP in the Tripura state elections in 2023 and emerge as strong opposition to the BJP at the national level as well. For the CPI (M) this is a chance to show that it still has deep zones of influence in the state.
A total of 785 candidates are battling for the remaining 222 seats after 36 candidates withdrew their nominations. There are a total of 334 seats in the city’s local government, including the Agartala Municipal Corporation (51 wards), 13 local councils, and six Nagar Panchayats across the state.
36 candidates, including 15 candidates from opposition CPI-M, four from Trinamool Congress (TMC), eight from Congress, two from AIFB and seven independent candidates, withdrew their nominations, an official said.
Ambassa Town Council, Jirania Nagar Panchayat, Mohanpur Town Council, Ranirbazar Town Council, Bishalgarh Town Council, Udaipur Town Council and Santirbazar Town Council have no opposition candidates.
A total of 5,944,772 voters are eligible to vote, and the number of female voters exceeds that of male voters in urban areas.
TMC youth leader Saayoni Ghosh, arrested for criminal intimidation and attempted murder, has been arrested acquitted on bail by the court on Monday of the additional Chief Judicial Magistrate in West Tripura District.
West Bengal Youth Congress President Trinamool was arrested on Sunday on charges of criminal intimidation, attempted murder and promoting group disharmony after she raised the party’s slogan “khela hobe” (game of play) ahead of a meeting that by the Minister of State Biplab Deb.
The TMC leadership alleged several party activists were attacked while gathering outside the police station where Ghosh was taken after her arrest.
The state experienced protests and violence in the run-up to the elections. CPM Secretary of State Jitendra Chaudhury alleged loyalty to the BJP forced her candidates to withdraw their nominations “because of the terror unleashed by thugs”.
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“The violence started much before the citizen election schedule was announced. Many of our party activists were attacked and our candidates in five councils and two Nagar panchayats were unable to submit their nominations. An unprecedented terror was unleashed by BJP-protected thugs, ”“ he told reporters.
Earlier this week in October, TMC’s Sushmita Dev had written a letter to Tripura Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya asking for his interference in the law and order of the state, claiming the situation was extremely critical.
In her letter she had written: “The extremely critical situation in the state of Tripura requires immediate attention. The order is worst. Many districts of Tripura have experienced violence and vandalism against people and property.”
The upcoming citizenship elections are vital for all parties and are seen as a precursor to the parliamentary elections scheduled for 2023.
Days before the local elections in Tripura, two rebellious MLAs from the state’s ruling BJP claimed on Tuesday that recent political violence in Tripura has damaged the reputation of the party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which could affect the Saffron Party’s election prospects in five states’ general elections .
The MLAs, Sudip Roy Burman and Asish Saha, said at a press conference here that the country’s supreme court, the Tripura High Court, and even the Union’s interior minister, Amit Shah, had to intervene in the recent political violence before the citizen polls.
On November 11th, the Supreme Court ordered the Tripura government to ensure that no political party, including TMC, is prevented from exercising the right to vote in accordance with the law, in a peaceful and orderly manner, in the struggle for local state elections Campaign wisely.
She had addressed a notice to the state government in response to the plea by TMC and its Rajya Sabha MP, Sushmita Dev, in which she asked for security for the party workers and representatives who alleged widespread violence against them.
A delegation of TMC MPs met with the Union’s interior minister, Amit Shah, on Monday to accuse police violence in Tripura.
The MPs, who have been sitting on a dharna in front of the Interior Ministry since Monday morning, were given an appointment to meet with the Shah in the afternoon.
BJP MLA Asish Das, who is close to Burman, joined the Trinamool Congress on October 31 by receiving the party flag from AITC General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee at a public meeting here.
A senior source in the BJP said: “The rebel MLAs, including Burman, Saha and others, have close ties with TMC and are working to damage our party’s political prospects.”
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SEE: The Supreme Court refuses to postpone citizen polls in Tripura
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