The ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in Tripura has finalized its list of candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections in the State and is expected to announce the same on Monday.
Tripura is going to polls on February 18 next. The CPI-M will field candidates in all 60 seats for ensuing elections, counting of which will be held on March 3.
The two-day meeting of the party’s central committee that began in Kolkata on Saturday discussed at length the probable candidates and their win ability in the respective seats, sources close to the party disclosed.
The meeting also discussed elaborately the party’s strategy to contest the polls in the light of stiff opposition from a reverberated Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under the stewardship of Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, NEDA chairman and in-charge of the party for the polls in Tripura.
This is for the first time in the history of electoral politics in the country that the BJP is in direct confrontation for the Left Front.
Sources close to the party have revealed that much brainstorming was done during the central committee meeting over the issue of giving tickets to three-time MLAs. A section of the party leadership was of the view that three-time legislators should pave way for new faces. If that is decided upon, many stalwarts will stand to lose their changes of contesting the forthcoming elections.
However, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and State PWD Minister Badal Chowdhury have already been granted a green signal for contesting elections though they crossed the limit.
However, the party leadership decided to stick to time-tested plans and not bring in drastic change in strategies as the election this time is crucial for the Left Front, again keeping in view the upsurge of BJP in the State and its alliance with Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), party sources added.
After getting the official nod from the central committee and party politburo, the state committee will sit on January 22 to get the list passed and it is expected that the party will make the announcement about the list of candidates on the same day.