Tripura civic polls: CPI(M)-Congress seat talks fail, three-way fight on

Talks between the CPI(M) and the Congress on sharing seats for Tripura's civic elections have collapsed, the Left party said on Tuesday, which means the November 27 polls to 21 urban local bodies will be a three-cornered contest.

The BJP-led NDA, the CPI(M) and the Congress will now face each other across the civic bodies, including the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC). The CPI(M) and the Congress are both members of the opposition INDIA bloc at the national level.

What the CPI(M) said

CPI(M) state secretary and Leader of the Opposition Jitendra Chaudhury told PTI that the party had made "whole-hearted efforts" to reach a seat adjustment so that the anti-BJP vote would not be split. Several rounds of talks went on until Monday night, he said, but ended without a decision.

Chaudhury said a number of Congress leaders had tried hard to avoid a split, but the party as a whole could not reach a united position. He said the CPI(M) had wanted to take on the BJP together with other anti-BJP forces, "but it is not going to happen".

He urged voters to back Left candidates, calling the CPI(M) the only party fighting the BJP directly and pointing to the Left's record in running civic bodies when it was in power.

The Tripura Congress had not responded publicly to the breakdown at the time of the report.

Deadline passed

The last date for withdrawing nominations ended at 3 pm on Tuesday, which leaves little room for any late understanding between the two parties on the ballot.

The run-up to the polls has already been bitter. The BJP and its allies are set to win 65 seats unopposed across five civic bodies after opposition nominees withdrew or were rejected, and the CPI(M) has alleged that some of its candidates were forced to pull out and has asked the State Election Commission to replace the returning officer in Ambassa. Scrutiny cleared 859 nominations and rejected 49.

Why it matters

In the 2021 civic polls, the BJP swept almost all the seats, including every ward of the AMC. A divided opposition makes a repeat more likely, while a united Left-Congress front had been seen by opposition supporters as the only realistic way to dent the ruling party's urban base ahead of the 2028 Assembly election.

Counting is expected after the November 27 vote. NEInsider will follow the campaign and the results.