The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday, November 4, demonstrated its civic polls preparations in Udaipur while announced a candidate list in Sonamura.
At A Glance
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BJP organised a rally in Udaipur with candidates from all 23 wards before submitting their nomination papers.
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The party dropped nine of its 13 sitting members in Sonamura Nagar Panchayat and retained four.
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BJP announced candidates for all 36 wards across Udaipur and Sonamura ahead of the November 27 civic elections.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has stepped up its campaign preparations for the November 27 civic elections in Tripura, combining a show of organisational strength in Udaipur with a major reshuffle of its candidates in Sonamura. While the saffron party brought its entire line-up of 23 candidates onto the streets of Udaipur before filing their nomination papers, it dropped nine of its 13 sitting members in Sonamura Nagar Panchayat.
The party has announced candidates for all 23 wards of Udaipur Municipal Council and all 13 wards of Sonamura Nagar Panchayat. The developments underline the BJP’s preparations to contest every seat in both urban local bodies.
Saffron Show of Strength in Udaipur
The political atmosphere in Udaipur has gathered momentum as parties intensify their preparations for the November 27 municipal elections. On Wednesday, the BJP organised a colourful rally through different parts of the town, projecting its organisational strength ahead of the polls.
Candidates from all 23 wards of Udaipur Municipal Council participated in the procession. Several senior party leaders also joined the programme, including State Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy, Gomati Zilla Parishad Sabhadhipati Debal Debroy, Tripura Pradesh Mahila Morcha president Mousumi Das and Gomati district BJP president Sabita Nag.
Other elected representatives and party functionaries accompanied the candidates. The presence of senior leaders and nominees from every ward brought the party’s election campaign into focus across the town.
Through the rally, the BJP leadership sought to demonstrate its organisational preparedness and convey its readiness to contest all 23 seats in the municipal council.
Following the procession, the party’s nominated candidates proceeded to the office of the Udaipur Sub-Divisional Magistrate and submitted their nomination papers under the prescribed administrative procedures.
The candidates filed their papers before Returning Officer Tridib Sarkar, Jeklu Debbarma and other officials concerned.
The BJP has fielded candidates in every ward of Udaipur Municipal Council, ensuring that it will contest all 23 seats in the upcoming election.
Elaborate Security at Udaipur SDM Office
The administration introduced stringent security arrangements around the SDM’s office during the nomination filing process.
Personnel from the state police, Tripura State Rifles (TSR) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) guarded the premises and surrounding areas to prevent any untoward incidents.
The authorities also maintained close surveillance throughout the area. The BJP candidates completed their nomination formalities amid the security deployment.
BJP Drops Nine Sitting Members in Sonamura
In Sonamura Nagar Panchayat of Sepahijala district, the BJP has introduced substantial changes to its candidate list, dropping nine of its 13 sitting members and retaining only four.
The party has announced nominees for all 13 wards. Several changes followed the revision of ward reservations, prompting the BJP to shift some candidates and introduce new faces.
The November 27 election will be the second general election to the Nagar Panchayat since the BJP came to power in Tripura in 2018.
One of the prominent changes involves Tapas Das, who won Ward 2 in the 2021 election. The party has now nominated him from Ward 1, reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates, replacing previous winner Suniti Namas Mallik. Prabha Barman has received the nomination for Ward 2, which is reserved for Scheduled Caste women.
In Ward 3, the BJP has replaced sitting member Mukseda Begum with Salma Akhtar. Ward 4 has been reserved for women, leading the party to nominate Shukla Datta Das instead of previous winner Pankaj Bhowmik. Jaba De Das, who represented a women’s reserved ward in the previous election, has retained her place in the candidate list.
The party has nominated Subrata Laskar from unreserved Ward 6. Jhoton Roy, who won the ward in 2021, has been shifted to Ward 7. Outgoing chairperson Sarada Chakraborty has been dropped from the candidate list.
New Faces and Ward Shifts in Sonamura
The BJP has also changed its nominees in several other wards.
Rahul Pal will contest Ward 8 in place of sitting member Rajesh Ghosh. In Ward 9, outgoing vice-chairperson Shahjahan Mia has received the party nomination, replacing sitting member Roshna Begum. Mia had won Ward 12 in 2021 before becoming the vice-chairperson.
In Ward 10, reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates, the party has nominated Nupur Chandra Das instead of sitting member Tapan Aich.
The BJP has also replaced previous winner Anita Saha with Shikha Deb in Ward 11, which is reserved for women.
Ward 12 has been reserved for women this time. The party has fielded Manowara Begum, replacing Shahjahan Mia, who represented the ward in the previous election.
In unreserved Ward 13, the BJP has dropped sitting member Pradip Das and nominated Ganu Mia as a new candidate.
