Tripura polls: Congress releases list of 17 candidates

Congress also released the list of star campaigners featuring Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Priyanka Gandhi, Bhupesh Baghel, Ashok Gehlot, and Sachin Pilot

Congress on Saturday released its list of 17 candidates for the 60-seated Tripura assembly polls scheduled to be held next month.

The assembly polls are slated to be held on February 16 and the counting of votes will take place on March 2 (Representative Photo)

As per the list released by the All India Congress Committee (AICC), Sudip Roy Barman and Asish Kumar Saha would contest from their respective home turf, Agartala and Town Bardowali. Asish Saha would contest against Tripura chief minister Manik Saha.

Both Roy Barman and Asish Saha switched over to Congress last year after resigning as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs.

Former BJP MLA Diba Chandra Hrangkhawl, who joined the Congress last month, was given a ticket from Karamcherra.

Former MLA Gopal Roy would contest against BJP president Rajib Bhattacharjee from the Banamalipur constituency, while Congress president Birajit Sinha would contest against newly-joined BJP nominee Mohammad Moboshar Ali from the Kailasahar constituency.

Rubi Gope is the lone woman candidate to contest from the Congress against food minister Manoj Kanti Deb from the Kamalpur seat.

Satyaban Das and Sista Mohan Das have been fielded from two scheduled castes (SC) reserved seats– Pabiachhara and Barjala.

Ashok Debbarma would contest from Charilam, an scheduled tribes (ST) reserved seat, against deputy chief minister Jishnu Devvarma while Chayan Bhattacharjee would contest from Dharmanagar seat against Assembly deputy speaker Biswabandhu Sen.

The Left Front, a Congress ally in the state, announced to contest in 47 seats leaving 13 for the Congress. Of the total of 47 seats, the CPM would contest 43 seats and one each to the Communist Party of India (CPI), Forward Bloc, Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and an independent candidate.

Earlier in the day, BJP also announced the candidates for 48 out of the total 60 seats.

Congress also released the list of star campaigners featuring Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Priyanka Gandhi, Bhupesh Baghel, Ashok Gehlot, and Sachin Pilot.

In the 2018 state assembly polls, the Congress fielded candidates in 56 seats and failed to secure a single seat.

The 2023 assembly polls are slated to be held on February 16 and the counting of votes will take place on March 2.