As elections in Tripura are knocking at the door, political parties are in a rush to finalize the list of its candidates.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday released its first list of 44 candidates for the Assembly elections. The party is going to contest for 51 seats and nine have been kept for its alliance partner, Indigenous People’s Front of Twipra (IPFT).
The BJP refrained from announcing a chief ministerial candidate for the state elections. The list includes the name of BJP’s State General Secretary Pratima Bhowmik who will be contesting from Dhanpur, the constituency of Chief Minister Manik Sarkar.
The Congress on Saturday released its list of candidates for next month's elections to the 60-seat Tripura Assembly, and threw open the door for an alliance with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC).
All India Congress Committee General Secretary and in-charge of Central Election Committee Oscar Fernandes communicated the candidates' names to the leaders of Tripura unit of the party.
According to state BJP sources, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Tripura visit for the first phase of campaigning is scheduled on February 8.