Tripura: BJP ally IPFT nominates candidates for both LS seats 

Agartala: Staying headstrong on its demand for seat sharing with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming general elections, the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) on Saturday declared the name of party president and revenue minister Narendra Chandra Debbarma and youth wing’s general secretary Shukla Charan Noatia as its candidates for East Tripura and West Tripura Parliamentary constituencies.

“If Bharatiya Janata Party agrees to share the East Tripura constituency, then IPFT will withdraw its candidate from West Tripura,” said IPFT’s general secretary and tribal welfare minister Mewar Kumar Jamatia after a day-long central committee meeting at Dasarath Deb Smriti Bhawan in Agartala on Saturday evening.

Jamatia said that as an ally of BJP and a member of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), the “indigenous political party should get seat-sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha election[s], but as the saffron party leaders are unwilling to share the seat, we have announced the names for [the] two seats”.

Nonetheless, the party has left its door open on the seat-sharing issue, and said, “If BJP agrees to our proposal, then well and good. If not, we will contest in both the seats. However, we will submit nomination papers soon as we are waiting for BJP’s decision for the last time.”

Speaking with media persons, IPFT president and revenue minister NC Debbarma said that the party had cleared its stance on seat-sharing in a statement issued on March 13 in the presence of BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav, but the saffron party is sticking to its decision of not sharing any seat in this general election.

Hence, to discuss the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, IPFT organised a conference of the party’s central committee where all leaders and associate wing members were present.

“Hence, IPFT on Saturday organised a conference of central committee where all our associate wings’ members and leaders were present and discussed about the upcoming Lok Sabha election,” he added.