A 3 cornered fight in the assembly polls in Tripura began on Thursday. As per inputs, a voter turnout of 13.23 per cent till 9 am, two hours after polling began.
Arch rivals, Congress and CPI-M have joined hands to dislodge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from power in the northeastern state. In this triangular contest, the ruling BJP and its alliance partner Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) are pitted against the Left-Congress alliance and TIPRA Motha, the newest regional party in the state.
The BJP is contesting on 55 seats and its ally on six seats as both parties have fielded their candidates from the Ampinagar constituency. The Left – which includes the CPM, Forward Bloc, Communist Party of India ( CPI) and Revolutionary Socialist Party ( RSP) – is contesting on 47 seats while Congress on 13 seats. The TIPRA Motha, headed by royal scion Pradyot Kishore Debbarma, is contesting on 42 seats.
In 2018, BJP had stormed to power with 36 seats, half of which were won from the tribal areas. With the rise of TIPRA Motha,a large chunk of the 20 tribal seats are expected to shift allegiance. While in the plains, where mostly non-tribals live, anti-incumbency and law and order issues may dent the ruling party’s tally according to analysts.
The vote counting will be done on March 2nd.