Congress announces 17 candidates for Tripura assembly polls along with list of star campaigners

AGARTALA, (ANI): The Congress on Saturday announced 17 candidates for the upcoming Tripura Assembly polls. Lone MLA of the party, Sudip Roy Barman, will contest from Agartala seat. The Congress is contesting the Tripura Assembly elections in alliance with CPI-M.

The Left Front had earlier declared that it will contest 47 seats and had left 13 seats for Congress. Of these 47, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) will contest 43 seats and CPI, RSP, Forward Bloc will field one candidate each. Congress declaring 17 seats means there will be “friendly contest” between alliance partners on four seats.

Elections to the 60-member Tripura assembly will be held on February 16. The Congress also released the list of star campaigners for Tripura elections.

The star campaigners include Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, party MPs Rahul Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, chief ministers of Congress ruled states – Ashok Gehlot, Bhupesh Baghel and Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.

The list also includes former Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot and party leaders Kanhaiya Kumar, BV Srinivas, Jignesh Mevani, and Alka Lamba. Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday announced its first list of 48 candidates for the Tripura Assembly polls. It has fielded Union minister Pratima Bhoumik from Dhanpur.

Six of the party’s sitting MLAs have not been given tickets for the upcoming polls. Meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party Central Election Committee (CEC) was held on January 27 under the chairmanship of BJP National President Jagat Prakash Nadda.

BJP came to power in Tripura in 2018 for the first time defeating the Left Front in its bastion. (ANI)