Agartala, Nov 1 (PTI): Tripura Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ratan Lal Nath on Sunday said the Tipra Motha Party (TMP) will contest the upcoming civic elections in alliance with the BJP.
The TMP, which had contested the elections to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) alone, fought the elections to Village Committees of the tribal council in alliance with the BJP following the BJP central leadership’s intervention.
“We had a fruitful meeting with the TMP leaders – Minister of State for Industries & Commerce, Brishaketu Debbarma, and senior MLA Ranjit Debbarma, at the state guest house today.
They have expressed a desire to contest the civic elections. We have decided to contest the election under the NDA banner”, Nath told reporters.
According to him, the outcome of the meeting would be forwarded to the party leadership for taking a final decision on seat sharing for the upcoming civic elections. The elections to the 21 civic bodies in Tripura will be held on November 27. “The seat-sharing deal will be finalised at the BJP’s core committee meeting scheduled to be held tomorrow. It is final that the BJP and its ally will contest the election under the NDA banner”, he said.
Responding to the outcome of the meeting, TMP MLA Ranjit Debbarma said the party has decided to contest the civic elections in alliance with the BJP, and it was accepted by the Parliamentary Affairs Minister on behalf of the BJP.
“We want to contest in those wards where the TMP has a chance to win, and seats to be offered to us should be a respectable number. The issue is expected to be resolved by tomorrow”, he said.
BJP state president Abhishek Debroy said the party has already prepared the list of candidates for the upcoming civic elections and was waiting for a nod from Delhi. The last date for filing nomination papers for the civic election is November 6.
