Tripura civic polls: 77 seats settled unopposed, 268 go to vote

Seventy-seven of the 345 seats in Tripura's 21 urban local bodies have been decided without a vote, and polling will be held for the other 268, according to State Election Commission figures released after the deadline to withdraw nominations ended on Tuesday, Tripura Times reported.

Five bodies fully unopposed

Every seat in five bodies has gone uncontested: Kamalpur and Jirania Nagar Panchayats (11 seats each), Ranirbazar Municipal Council (13), and Mohanpur and Santirbazar Municipal Councils (15 each). That accounts for 65 seats.

The other 12 uncontested seats are in Ambassa (six), Teliamura (four) and Bishalgarh (two).

All 51 wards of the Agartala Municipal Corporation will be contested. So will every seat in Dharmanagar, Panisagar, Kailashahar, Kumarghat, Khowai, Bishramganj, Melaghar, Sonamura, Udaipur, Amarpur, Sabroom and Belonia.

Who is in the fray

After scrutiny on November 7, 859 nominations were valid. Forty-nine candidates withdrew by November 10, leaving 810 in the race.

• BJP: 342 candidates (no withdrawals)
• CPI(M): 228 (23 withdrew)
• Congress: 201 (15 withdrew)
• Tipra Motha Party: 10 (five withdrew)
• Others: 29 (six withdrew)

Background

The opposition has questioned how the unopposed seats came about. The CPI(M) has alleged that some of its candidates were forced to pull out and has sought action against the returning officer in Ambassa. The ruling BJP rejects the charge. Seat-sharing talks between the CPI(M) and the Congress also broke down, so most contested seats will see a three-way fight.

The figures also show how much ground the BJP covers on its own. With 342 candidates for 345 seats, the party is in the race almost everywhere. The CPI(M) and the Congress together have 429 candidates, so in many wards both will be on the ballot against the BJP. The Tipra Motha Party, which is strong in the tribal council areas, is contesting only a handful of urban seats.

Agartala, the largest of the 21 bodies, will be the main battleground. The BJP won all 51 wards of the Agartala Municipal Corporation in the 2021 civic polls.

What happens next

Polling for the 268 contested seats is scheduled for November 27, from 7 am to 4 pm, under the State Election Commission's schedule. Any re-poll will be held on November 30, and votes will be counted on December 2. The model code of conduct remains in force in the urban local body areas until the process ends.

NEInsider will track campaigning and the results in all 21 bodies.