Supreme Court directs Tripura to hold Village Committee elections in TTAADC by September

In a significant development for the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), the Supreme Court has directed the State Election Commission to conduct the long-pending Village Committee (VC) elections by September 2026.

The directive came during proceedings in a writ petition filed by Pradyot Kishore Manikya Deb Barma, who had challenged the failure of authorities to hold the elections, which have remained pending for nearly a decade.

Announcing the development, Pradyot said the Tripura State Election Commission submitted an affidavit before the apex court stating that the election process would begin in the first week of September and be completed within the same month.

Describing the order as a major victory for the people of the TTAADC, Pradyot said the constitutional rights of tribal residents had been restored after years of legal struggle.

"The people of the TTAADC have been waiting for 10 years. This is not the victory of any political party, but the victory of the Constitution and the people," he said.

The Village Committees function as grassroots local governance institutions in the TTAADC areas, and the absence of elections for a prolonged period had drawn criticism from various quarters.

Pradyot expressed hope that the conduct of elections would pave the way for stronger local governance and accelerated development across the tribal council areas.