Agartala, Jan 23 (UNI) Projecting fourth term Chief Minister Manik Sarkar again as CM nominee, left front Tripura state committee today announced it’s candidates for upcoming election to 60-members seats where five sitting MLAs were dropped from the contest.
Belying speculations, the CPI (M) has not made any major change in the list of nominations, preferring to stick with the past. All the ministers of the outgoing cabinet are given tickets in their respective seats including speaker and deputy speaker but changed altogether 12 contestants of last election and brought new faces.
However, left front has fielded as many as seven female candidates including sitting Rajya Sabha member Jharna Das Baidya. In 2013 elections, there were five female contestants and all of them won the elections.
Newly nominated convener of left front and CPI(M) state secretary Bijan Dhar told media that left front has tried to retain the sitting MLAs but in few cases change was inevitable because of win-ability factor and two have been dropped because of their health problem.
He said that the left front unanimously resolved to share 57 seats to CPI(M) and one each was allotted to Communist Party of India (CPI), Forward Bloc and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP). In last election, CPI and RSP had contested in two seats each and Forward Bloc fielded one candidate though all of them had demanded more seats. But this time both CPI and RSP lost one seat each for contesting.
While CPI has selected the sitting minister of Jail Manindra Reang for Shantirbazar tribal reserved constituency, both Forward Bloc and RSP changed their candidates considering win-ability prospect.
Forward Bloc nominated Mayor in-council of Agartala Municipal Corporation Biswanath Saha for contesting from their traditional seat Bordowali (central Agartala) and RSP has nominated Sukanta Datta from Radhakishorepur constituency (Udaipur).
The list contains no major surprise rather the traditional seat of CPI – Banamalipur (Agartala) has been taken away by CPI(M) and fielded their youth wing DYFI secretary Amal Chakraborty who is contesting for the first time.
Among 12 new candidates altogether 10 are fresher while two had contested and won elections earlier, Dhar said and added apart from Bishwanath Saha and Amal Chakraborty, Ramendra Debbarma (Takarjala ST), Srikanta Datta (Radhakishorepur), Islamuddin (Kadamtala-Kurti), Ajit Das (Panisagar) replacing ailing Faizur Rahaman.
Bharat Reang (Ambassa), Umakanta Tripura (Karamcherra ST) and Anil Chakma, former MLA in Pecharthal constituency who replaces sitting member Arun Chakma and Ms Krishna Majumdar in Agartala constituency. However, the surprise pack of re-nomination is octogenarian Nirajay Tripura in Chawmanu constituency who is close to 90.
Even though CPI (M) secretary Bijan Dhar did not spell out anything, it was clear that the party or the Front avoided taking any risk over nomination, reposing faith in old war-horses rather than taking risk with new faces. The CPI (M) led left front has nominated three candidates belonging to Muslim religious minority candidates like last assembly elections.
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