Agartala, September 9:
Tripura’s Village Committee elections have entered the scrutiny stage with 10,936 candidates filing 10,958 nomination papers for 4,597 seats, even as allegations of intimidation and sporadic political violence have raised concerns over the poll environment in the tribal council areas.
According to Anurag Sen, Secretary of the Tripura State Election Commission (SEC), scrutiny of nominations began on Wednesday. The final list of candidates will be known after the withdrawal deadline on September 11.
Tipra Motha has emerged as the largest contender, fielding 4,371 candidates, followed by the CPI(M) with 2,484 and the BJP with 1,974. The Congress has submitted 466 nominations, while the IPFT has fielded 486 candidates. The CPI has four candidates in the fray.
Independents, smaller political outfits and other unrecognised parties account for another 1,151 candidates.
The nomination figures, however, indicate that a substantial number of seats could see little or no contest. As many as 1,169 seats have received only one nomination so far, with a large share of these nominations coming from Tipra Motha.
At the same time, three seats have received no nomination from any political party. Two of these are under Mungiakami RD Block and one falls under Hezamara RD Block.
Sen said candidates could be declared elected unopposed only after the completion of the statutory scrutiny and withdrawal process.
The SEC has maintained that the nomination process was conducted fairly and said it had received no specific complaint regarding the submission of nomination papers. Complaints concerning incidents outside the formal nomination process, however, have been forwarded to the police for appropriate legal action, Sen said.
The commission’s position comes against the backdrop of allegations by opposition parties that their candidates were allegedly intimidated or prevented from filing nominations in parts of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).
Political tensions also intensified within the ruling alliance on Tuesday following an alleged attack on IPFT general secretary Swapan Debbarma at Hezamara.
IPFT leaders alleged that Debbarma was assaulted by supporters of Tipra Motha and that his vehicle was vandalised. He was later taken to GBP Hospital for treatment.
IPFT Minister Sukla Charan Noatia condemned the alleged attack and appealed for restraint, stressing the need to protect democratic space during the election process.
The incident has assumed political significance as IPFT and Tipra Motha are both constituents of the ruling alliance in Tripura, despite their differences over various issues.
Security arrangements have also emerged as a key concern ahead of polling. The SEC has sought additional deployment of central security forces to ensure peaceful elections.
Sen said 24 companies of central forces had initially been confirmed, while additional forces were subsequently sanctioned. More personnel are expected to be deployed following requests made to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Village Committee elections are being held after nearly a decade and follow a Supreme Court judgment in a case filed by Tipra Motha supremo Pradyot Kishore Debbarma.
The elections cover 587 Village Committees comprising 2,634 constituencies and 4,597 seats across the TTAADC areas. Polling is scheduled for September 28, while counting will take place on October 5.
With scrutiny and withdrawal still underway, the final number of seats witnessing direct contests is yet to be determined. The focus will now shift towards campaigning, candidate security and maintaining law and order across the tribal council areas as Tripura heads towards polling.
