Agartala, Mar 27 (PTI) Congress' Tripura unit chief Asish Kumar Saha on Wednesday filed nomination papers as a party candidate, supported by the INDIA bloc partners, for the Tripura West Lok Sabha constituency.

Accompanied by senior party leader Sudip Roy Barman, MLA Gopal Roy, opposition leader in the Tripura assembly Jitendra Chaudhury, Saha led a rally which was organised to mark the occasion.

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Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar, who was scheduled to join the rally, could not make it.

"This is an electoral battle to save democracy and the Constitution, which are under threat under the current dispensation. I am confident of winning the elections as the Left parties extended support to me," Saha told reporters after filing his nomination for the Lok Sabha polls.

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Speaking about former Tripura chief minister and his rival Biplab Kumar Deb of the BJP, Saha said the people had witnessed his four-year tenure as the CM.

"The people will give a fitting reply to him in the elections", he said.

Chaudhury, the CPI(M) state secretary, termed the upcoming Lok Sabha election as an "important one to save democracy and the Constitution".

"The electoral battle will decide the future of the country. The constitutional value has been snatched away in the last ten years of the BJP-led NDA rule at the Centre. We have to defeat the saffron camp in the battle," he said.

The CPI(M) leader alleged that the BJP candidate for the Tripura West Lok Sabha constituency was "forced to quit as the chief minister because of an anarchy-like situation in the state".

"Now, the people want to know what has prompted the BJP to field Deb in the Lok Sabha elections. The electors will give him a lesson in the polls," he said.

Altogether, nine nomination papers were submitted for the Tripura West Lok Sabha constituency till Wednesday, the last date for filing such documents, Returning Officer Vishal Kumar said.

As per the schedule, the scrutiny of the nomination papers will be done on Thursday, while the last date for withdrawal of candidature will be on March 30.

Elections to the Tripura West Lok Sabha seat will be held on April 19.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)