The BJP has secured 77 seats unopposed across five civic bodies in Tripura ahead of the November 27 urban local body elections, following the scrutiny of nomination papers on Tuesday, an official said.
The unopposed victories came in Mohanpur, Kamalpur, Jirania, Ranirbazar and Santirbazar.
State Election Commissioner P K Chakravarty said polling would be held for the remaining 268 seats across 21 civic bodies, including the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC), with 810 candidates in the fray. Counting is scheduled for December 3.
According to the State Election Commission, the BJP has fielded 342 candidates, followed by the CPI(M) with 218 and the Congress with 201. The deadline for filing nominations for all 345 seats ended on November 7.
Responding to allegations of forced withdrawals, Chakravarty said the commission had sought reports from the Dhalai district magistrate and superintendent of police. He said ground reports indicated no such incidents in Ambassa or elsewhere in the district.
However, CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury alleged that the party’s candidates in Ambassa were forced to withdraw their nominations following threats, intimidation and attacks on their residences.
