Guwahati: The BJP has secured 77 seats across five civic bodies in Tripura without a contest following the completion of nomination filing and scrutiny for the November 27 elections, an official said on Wednesday.
The deadline for filing nominations for 345 seats across 21 civic bodies, including the Agartala Municipal Corporation, ended on November 7. The scrutiny of nomination papers was conducted on Tuesday.
With 77 seats already decided unopposed, elections will now be held for the remaining 268 seats. These constituencies are expected to witness a triangular contest among the BJP-led NDA, the CPI(M) and the Congress.
State Election Commissioner P K Chakravarty said a total of 810 candidates are contesting for the 268 seats. Polling is scheduled for November 27, while counting will take place on December 3.
The BJP has fielded the highest number of candidates at 342, followed by the CPI(M) with 218 nominees and the Congress with 201, Chakravarty said.
According to the State Election Commission, the BJP secured all 77 seats unopposed across five civic bodies: Mohanpur, Kamalpur, Jirania, Ranirbazar and Santirbazar.
Allegations of forced withdrawal of nominations
Responding to allegations that candidates had been forced to withdraw their nominations, Chakravarty said the commission had sought reports from the district magistrate and superintendent of police of Dhalai district.
“Following allegations of forceful withdrawal of nominations, we sought reports from the district magistrate and superintendent of police of Dhalai. Ground reports show that there was no such instance at Ambassa or elsewhere in Dhalai district,” he said.
However, CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury alleged that party candidates in Ambassa were forced to withdraw their nominations on Tuesday following threats, intimidation and attacks on their residences.
The contrasting claims have brought attention to the circumstances surrounding candidate withdrawals ahead of the civic polls.