Agartala, Feb 02: The CPI-M-led Left Front and the Congress announced that both parties would withdraw their candidates fielded against each other in the February 16 Tripura polls, as per their seat-sharing agreement.
On the Left parties, led by the CPI-M, on January 25 announced the names of 47 candidates leaving 13 seats to their new ally Congress while dropping eight sitting MLAs.
Congress leaders had been disenchanted over the paltry allotment of seats by the Left parties. On January 28, Congress announced 17 candidates.
On the last day of filing nominations on Monday, both the Left parties and the Congress fielded candidates against each other in many seats. Late Wednesday night, the CPI-M, in a statement, said that they would withdraw their additional candidates fielded against the Congress candidates and urged the Congress leaders to reciprocate.
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Congress spokesman and party’s state General Secretary Prashanta Bhattacharjee said late on Wednesday night that their candidates, fielded against the Left party nominees, would be withdrawn on Thursday.
Thursday is the last day for the withdrawal of candidatures. Ashish Kumar Saha Congress candidate of Town Bordowali-8 Assembly constituency said that “Till now 16 candidates of our party have filled out the nomination form and all are likely to contest.”
leader and the party’s lone MLA in Tripura, Sudip Roy Barman, had said that they had first demanded 27 seats, and then 23 seats from the Left parties.
