BJP, Tipra Motha to withdraw excess nominees ahead of Tripura VC polls
The BJP and Tipra Motha have agreed to withdraw extra nominees filed for Tripura's Village Committee elections. The move follows confusion over a late seat-sharing pact and will clear the final candidate list.
- Sep 10, 2026,
- Updated Sep 10, 2026, 7:12 PM IST
The ruling BJP and its alliance partner Tipra Motha Party have agreed to withdraw candidates who filed nominations beyond the seats allotted to them under their seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Village Committee (VC) elections in Tripura.
The decision was taken during a meeting of senior leaders of both parties at the State Guest House in Agartala on Thursday, a day ahead of the September 11 deadline for withdrawal of nominations.
The BJP delegation was led by Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath, while Tipra Motha was represented by senior leaders, including MLA Ranjit Debbarma and other party representatives.
Speaking after the meeting, Nath said the alliance decision was taken at short notice, leaving little time for the seat-sharing arrangement to be communicated effectively to grassroots workers. As a result, additional candidates from both parties filed nomination papers in several constituencies.
“Since the decision to contest together as NDA partners was taken suddenly, the message could not reach all levels of the organisation in time. Consequently, extra candidates filed nominations in some seats,” Nath said.
He added that both parties have now identified the constituencies where excess nominations were filed and have agreed to withdraw those candidates during the withdrawal process on Friday.
Tipra Motha MLA Ranjit Debbarma said some aspirants had submitted nomination papers without consulting the party leadership. He said the issue was discussed in detail during Thursday’s meeting and the candidates concerned would withdraw their nominations.
The BJP and Tipra Motha formally decided on September 6 to contest the Village Committee elections together as NDA allies, with the seat-sharing formula based on previous TTAADC election results.
The Village Committee elections are scheduled for September 28, covering 587 Village Committees, 2,634 constituencies, and 4,597 seats across the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) region.
The final list of contesting candidates will be published after the completion of the nomination withdrawal process on September 11.