Kolkata, February 2: The 60 assembly seats in Tripura is set to go to polls on February 16 while the counting of votes is scheduled to be held on March 2. While the last election in 2018 was more of a bipolar contest between Left Front and the BJP, this time a multi way contest is expected with a rejuvenated Congress party and All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) also in fray.

For the Tripura assembly elections 2023, the Congress-CPI(M) have formed an alliance to defeat the incumbent BJP. This is a tectonic shift in the state's political landscape, as the grand old party was the main opposition to the Left Front, which ruled Tripura for 25 years before being routed by the saffron party in 2018. Tripura Assembly Elections 2022: Know Polling Date, How To Vote, Check Name in Voter List and Download Voter Slip.

Here are some of the key candidates in Tripura assembly elections 2023.

Manik Saha

Manik Saha was made the chief minister of the northeastern state after the resignation of Biplab Kumar Deb. Saha, a former member of congress who later switched to BJP, will contest from the Town Bordowali  assembly constituency. Saha had won the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Tripura last year before assuming the charge of chief minister. He is also the president of the Tripura Cricket Association. Tripura Assembly Elections 2023: CPI-M Led Left Front, Congress To Withdraw Candidates Fielded Against Each Other As per Seat-Sharing Agreement.

Pratima Bhoumik

Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment, Pratima Bhoumik will contest from Dhanpur assembly constituency on Bharatiya Janata Party ticket. She had made history when she was became first politician from Tripura to be made central minister. She had won the West Tripura lok sabha constituency in the general elections in 2019.

Rajib Bhattacharjee

BJP Tripura chief will contest from the Banamalipur assembly seat. The seat was won by former chief minister Biplab Deb in 2018. Bhattacharjee’s career in BJP spans more than 30 years and previously he worked for the RSS as well. Bhattacharjee is considered to be a close aide of former CM Biplab Kumar Deb.

Birajit Sinha

Chief of Tripura congress, Birajit Sinha will fight the elections from Kailashahr. 70-year-old Sinha was a Minister in the Congress-led Tripura government and has been appointed the state party President for a record three times. Sinha is a five-time MLA and remains at loggerheads with the ruling BJP.

Sudip Roy Burman

Sudip Roy Burman who switched sides from BJP to congress is fighting from state capital Agartala. Burman who was a former health minister had resigned from the primary membership of BJP last year claiming that there is no democracy in the state and people are suffocating.

Jitendra Chaudhary

Prominent tribal leader and former minister Jitendra Chaudhary will be contesting from the Sabroom assembly seat. He is the state secretary of the CPI-M in Tripura. Chaudhury had served as minister in four successive Manik Sarkar cabinets from 1993 till 2014.

Ashish Kumar Saha

Ashish Kumar Saha is the congress candidate from Town Bordowali assembly seat. He will be contesting against chief minister Manik Saha. Saha had earlier resigned from the BJP along with Sudip Roy Burman and joined the congress party. In August 2017, he was one of the six MLAs from All India Trinamool Congress who joined Bharatiya Janata Party.

A total of 305 nomination papers have been submitted by candidates across party lines for the elections on February 16, according to chief electoral officer Kiran Dinkarrao Gitte.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 02, 2023 04:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).