India News | IPFT Announces List of 18 Candidates for Tripura District Council Polls

Agartala, Mar 7 (PTI) The IPFT, an ally of the ruling BJP in Tripura, on Sunday announced the names of 18 candidates for a district council poll.

The announcement comes at a time when both the parties are holding discussions for sharing seats for the 30-member Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council election.

Indigenous People's Front of Tripura president Naredra Chandra Debbarma, who is also the state revenue minister, said the list of the party candidates was finalised by its election committee.

"Doors are open for discussion on seat sharing. Whoever agrees with our demand, we will fight the council elections jointly," IPFT general secretary and tribal welfare minister Mevar Kumar Jamatiya told reporters.

He made it clear that the party would not change the names of its candidates in any circumstance.

Election will be held in 28 seats of the 30-member council on April 4.

Members of the remaining two seats are nominated by the governor.

BJP spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharjee said, "The announcement of candidates by the IPFT is unfair when our discussions for sharing seats are still going on."

The IPFT had decided to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha election alone.

"We are still ready for discussions to take the right decision for people's interest," Bhattacharjee said.

Of the 18 IPFT candidates, 17 are new faces.

(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)