259 candidates to contest Tripura assembly polls

way2barak, Feb 3 : 259 candidates including 29 women aspirants would contest the February 16 assembly elections in Tripura, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Gitte Kirankumar Dinkarrao said here on Thursday.

On the last day of withdrawal of nominations on Thursday, 32 candidates of various parties withdrew their candidatures, Dinkarrao said.

The CEO said that of the 259 candidates, the highest number of 55 candidates put up by the ruling Bharatiya Janata party followed by Communist Party of India-Marxist 43, tribal based new party Tipra Motha Party 42, Trinamool Congress 28, Congress 13.

Even as the BJP allotted 5 seats to its junior ally Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) the latter has fielded six candidates.

In Ampinagar seat in southern Tripura, BJP nominated Patal Kanya Jamatiya and the IPFT fielded sitting party MLA Sindhu Chandra Jamatia.

Altogether 58 independent candidates and 14 candidates of various other smaller and state parties are also contesting the elections.

In the 2018 assembly elections 297 candidates including 24 women aspirants fought the elections to the 60-member Tripura assembly.