Tripura Left Front drops two former ministers from poll candidates’ list

Both Dey and Debbarma were former ministers. According to a press statement from Left Front Committee, they were replaced due to their physical illness

Shortly after Communist Party of India (Marxist) MLA Moboshar Ali and former MLA Subal Bhowmik joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Left Front dropped candidates in two seats.

Since 1977, no tribal political party has contested elections without forging an alliance with a national party (Representative Photo)

The Left Front in Tripura which declared the list of candidates for 47 of the 60 assembly seats, dropped Majlishpur candidate Manik Dey and Asharambari candidate Aghore Debbarma who were replaced by Sanjay Das and Dilip Debbarma.

Both Dey and Debbarma were former ministers. According to a press statement from Left Front Committee, they were replaced due to their physical illness.

In the 60 assembly seats, the CPM would contest 43 seats. The Communist Party of India (CPI), Forward Bloc, Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and a human rights activist as an independent candidate would contest one seat each.

In the earlier list, sitting legislator and former state chief minister Manik Sarkar, deputy opposition leader Badal Choudhury, former ministers Bhanulal Saha, Shahid Chowdhury, and Tapan Chakraborty were dropped due to their physical illness.

Meanwhile, two days after a party delegation met representatives of the ministry of home affairs to discuss their demand for a separate state for indigenous people, TIPRA Motha chief Pradyot Kishore Deb Barma on Friday announced his party would fight the Tripura assembly elections alone.

Since 1977, no tribal political party has contested elections without forging an alliance with a national party.

The state assembly election is scheduled to be held on 16 February 2023 to elect all 60 members of the Tripura Legislative Assembly. The counting of votes will take place on March 2.