Agartala: The ruling BJP and the opposition CPI (M) have announced names of candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls to Tripura.
While the BJP nominated its state president Dr Manik Saha as the contestant, the Left Front named senior CPI (M) leader and former Tripura finance minister Bhanu Lal Saha.
75-year-old Bhanu Lal Saha is a party MLA from Bishalgarh seat in Sepahijala district.
CPI (M) state secretary Jitendra Chowdhury said the party nominated him considering his contribution to the democratic movement.
Tripura BJP chief spokesperson Subrata Chakraborty said the Central leadership on Friday cleared the name of Dr Manik Saha as Rajya Sabha cand.
Mainak Saha, who quit Congress and joined the BJP in 2016, was made the party’s state president in 2020.
He had replaced Biplab Kumar Deb who had led the saffron party to a phenomenal victory in the 2018 Assembly elections ending a 25-year-old Communist rule.
The Rajya Sabha poll will be held on March 31, and votes will be counted on the same day.
The tenure of incumbent Rajya Sabha MP from Tripura, Jharna Das Baidya, will expire on April 2.
The last date for filing nominations for the upcoming election is March 21, while scrutiny of papers will take place the next day.
The last date for withdrawal of nominations is March 24, according to a notification issued by the Election Commission.