The Tripura State Election Commission announced 810 candidates for 269 urban local body seats. Security measures, including firearm deposits, are in place, while officials addressed allegations of forced nomination withdrawals ahead of the polls.
Tripura Urban Local Body Elections Overview
The State Election Commission official of Tripura, Pradip Kumar Chakraborty on Tuesday informed that a total of 810 candidates are set to contest the upcoming elections to urban local bodies in Tripura across 269 seats, following the completion of the nomination withdrawal process on November 10.
Providing the details regarding the lists while talking to ANI, Chakraborty stated that total of 879 candidates had initially submitted nomination papers. During scrutiny conducted on November 7, the Returning Officers found 859 nomination papers valid, while 49 nomination papers involving 20 candidates were rejected. According to the party-wise figures, the valid nominations included 342 candidates from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), 251 from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPIM], 216 from the Indian National Congress (INC), 15 from the Trinamool Congress and 35 candidates from other parties and independent groups.
Candidate Distribution and Uncontested Seats
An official press release from Agartala mentioned that following the withdrawal of nominations, the final party-wise position of contesting candidates stands at 342 for the BJP, 263 for the CPIM, 166 for the INC, 10 for the Trinamool Congress and 29 for other parties and independent candidates, taking the total to 810.
During the media conversation P.K. Chakraborty further informed that five urban local bodies have been declared uncontested, with BJP candidates emerging as the sole contestants, these include Shantirbazar Municipal Council, Ranirbazar Municipal Council, Mohanpur Municipal Council, Jirania Nagar Panchayat and another urban local body. Out of the total 345 seats across the concerned urban local bodies, 77 seats have been declared uncontested, while elections will be held in the remaining 269 seats, involving 810 candidates, he added.
Election Security and Complaints
Addressing allegations of threats and pressure on candidates to withdraw their nominations, Chakraborty said the State Election Commission had sought preliminary reports from the respective District Magistrates and Collectors. According to the reports received so far, no instance of force being used against any individual candidate to withdraw their candidature has been established.
As part of security arrangements ahead of the elections, the State Election Commission has also instructed District Magistrates and Collectors to ensure that licensed firearms are deposited at the respective police stations. Chakraborty said that, as of November 13, a total of 110 licensed firearms had been deposited in compliance with the instructions.
To ensure proper monitoring and smooth conduct of the elections, the Commission has deployed 23 election observers across the concerned urban local bodies. Chakraborty appealed to candidates, political parties and members of the public to bring any election-related complaints or issues to the attention of the designated election observers in their respective municipal areas. He assured that complaints would be taken up through the appropriate channels as part of the Commission’s efforts to ensure a peaceful and transparent electoral process. (ANI)
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