Tripura will witness a triangular election battle today, the first major election of 2023, between the BJP-IPFT combinationthe Left-Congress alliance and the new regional party, the Tipra Motha, led by the royal scion Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma.
Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Tripura assembly election it is a key test for the BJP government, which is facing a challenge from two-year-old Tipra Motha. The latter has made deep inroads into tribal constituencies, buoyed by his victory in the 2021 Tribal Council Polls (TTAADC).
In the 60-member state assembly, 20 seats are reserved for the tribal areas that hold the key to power in the northeastern state.
Real-time updates: Tripura assembly elections 2023
Adding to the BJP’s woes, the IPFT, a tribal ally of the ruling party, has faced desertions in recent months with many leaders and workers joining the Tipra Motha.
The BJP is vying for 55 seats, its ally IPFT has fielded candidates in five constituencies. The CPI(M) will contest 47 seats while its alliance partner, Congress, will fight in 13 constituencies. Tipra Motha has candidates in 42 seats.
Prime Minister Manik Saha He is the BJP candidate from Town Bardowali constituency while Union Minister Pratima Bhowmik is contesting the Saffron party ticket from Dhanpur. CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury, who is the face of the Left-Congress association, is fighting for the Sabroom Assembly seat.
Tipra Motha’s supreme Debbarma is not in the fray.
While campaigning, the BJP highlighted the development that has taken place in the northeastern state over the past five years, while the Left Front and Congress denounced “misrule and misrule” by the BJP-led government.
Tipra Motha’s ballot is ‘Greater Tipraland’, a separate state for the indigenous people of Tripura, who have been reduced to a minority due to the unchecked influx from the former East Bengal (Bangladesh). According to the 2011 census, the population of Tripura is 36.74 lakh, of which about a third (11.6 lakh) is tribal.
In 1901, the population of Tripura was 1.73 lakh, with the tribals making up almost 52.89% of the total. But by 1981, the tribal population dropped to 28.44 percent of a total population of 2.05 million, according to government records.
In 2018 assembly polls, the BJP had created history by ending the 25-year Left Front regime in the state. The Saffron Party won 36 seats and its ally IPFT eight.
This time, overall 28.13 lakh voters including 13.53 lakh women will decide the fate of 259 candidates including 20 women. Votes will be tallied on March 2.
Voting takes place under close surveillance between 7am and 4pm in 3,337 polling stations, of which 1,100 have been identified as sensitive and 28 as critical, Gitte Kirankumar Dinakarro, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), told PTI.
International and interstate borders have been sealed to prevent potential troublemakers from entering the state. Tripura shares an 856km border with Bangladesh.
Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Tripura assembly election it is a key test for the BJP government, which is facing a challenge from two-year-old Tipra Motha. The latter has made deep inroads into tribal constituencies, buoyed by his victory in the 2021 Tribal Council Polls (TTAADC).
In the 60-member state assembly, 20 seats are reserved for the tribal areas that hold the key to power in the northeastern state.
Real-time updates: Tripura assembly elections 2023
Adding to the BJP’s woes, the IPFT, a tribal ally of the ruling party, has faced desertions in recent months with many leaders and workers joining the Tipra Motha.
The BJP is vying for 55 seats, its ally IPFT has fielded candidates in five constituencies. The CPI(M) will contest 47 seats while its alliance partner, Congress, will fight in 13 constituencies. Tipra Motha has candidates in 42 seats.
Prime Minister Manik Saha He is the BJP candidate from Town Bardowali constituency while Union Minister Pratima Bhowmik is contesting the Saffron party ticket from Dhanpur. CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury, who is the face of the Left-Congress association, is fighting for the Sabroom Assembly seat.
Tipra Motha’s supreme Debbarma is not in the fray.
While campaigning, the BJP highlighted the development that has taken place in the northeastern state over the past five years, while the Left Front and Congress denounced “misrule and misrule” by the BJP-led government.
Tipra Motha’s ballot is ‘Greater Tipraland’, a separate state for the indigenous people of Tripura, who have been reduced to a minority due to the unchecked influx from the former East Bengal (Bangladesh). According to the 2011 census, the population of Tripura is 36.74 lakh, of which about a third (11.6 lakh) is tribal.
In 1901, the population of Tripura was 1.73 lakh, with the tribals making up almost 52.89% of the total. But by 1981, the tribal population dropped to 28.44 percent of a total population of 2.05 million, according to government records.
In 2018 assembly polls, the BJP had created history by ending the 25-year Left Front regime in the state. The Saffron Party won 36 seats and its ally IPFT eight.
This time, overall 28.13 lakh voters including 13.53 lakh women will decide the fate of 259 candidates including 20 women. Votes will be tallied on March 2.
Voting takes place under close surveillance between 7am and 4pm in 3,337 polling stations, of which 1,100 have been identified as sensitive and 28 as critical, Gitte Kirankumar Dinakarro, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), told PTI.
International and interstate borders have been sealed to prevent potential troublemakers from entering the state. Tripura shares an 856km border with Bangladesh.
(With contributions from agencies)
