The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday night announced candidates for 45 of the 51 wards of the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) for the upcoming urban local body elections, bringing significant changes to its candidate list. The names of the remaining six wards will be announced on Wednesday.
The announcement was made at a late-night press conference held at the BJP state headquarters in Agartala by party state president Abhishek Debroy. The finalisation of the list came after a day-long series of discussions and consultations by the party leadership, including a core committee meeting held at the official residence of Chief Minister Prof. Dr Manik Saha.
Party also announced the names of candidates for Teliamura, Khowai, Kumarghat and Kailashahar Municipal Councils.
In a major development, sitting AMC Mayor and MLA Dipak Majumder has opted out of contesting the election this time. Announcing the decision, Debroy said Majumder would instead lead the BJP’s election campaign as the captain of the party’s campaign team in Agartala.
Debroy said the decision was in line with the BJP’s policy of not appointing sitting MLAs to the posts of chairpersons of Nagar Panchayats, Municipal Councils and Municipal Corporations. He added that Majumder had successfully served as Mayor for the past five years and would remain one of the key faces of the party’s campaign along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha and former Chief Minister and Lok Sabha MP Biplab Kumar Deb.
The BJP state president said the party had introduced several new faces in the AMC election, with priority given to grassroots-level organisational workers, including booth presidents, Shakti Kendra pramukhs and prishtha pramukhs. He said young candidates, especially those between 20 and 40 years of age, along with women candidates, doctors, advocates, retired teachers, engineers and people from different professional backgrounds had been given opportunities.
Sources said several sitting councillors were dropped from the list, while many fresh faces were included. Some councillors facing allegations of nepotism and irregularities were also reportedly denied tickets. Around eight to ten new faces have already entered the announced list, with the number likely to increase after declaration of the remaining names.
The delay in announcing the candidates created intense speculation within the party throughout the day. A large number of BJP workers and supporters of aspiring candidates gathered outside the party office as discussions continued. The leadership reportedly faced pressure from different sections of the party over ticket distribution, particularly regarding the AMC wards where several sitting councillors were expected to be replaced.
Explaining the changes, Debroy said the final selection was made after considering reservation-related changes, age factors, organisational performance and other internal guidelines. He said the candidate selection process involved scrutiny at multiple levels, including consultations with senior party leaders.
The BJP also announced candidates for other municipal bodies and Nagar Panchayats across the state. Regarding the party’s understanding with TIPRA Motha, Debroy said the BJP had decided to allot three seats to the regional party across Tripura, though he did not disclose the specific wards.
Debroy further informed that candidates would file their nomination papers on November 4 and 5. The party will announce the remaining AMC candidates and other pending names through official notices. The decision on the next Mayor will be taken only after the election results, he added.