Tripura: Civic body polls deferred till February 27, opposition slams move

Agartala: A notification issued by Kiren Gitte, secretary, state urban development department, informed that civic body polls in the state have been deferred till February 27.

He also ordered the appointment of administrators to the urban local bodies with effect from the date of dissolution of these bodies. The tenure of most civic bodies end in December.

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The 20 urban local bodies comprise of one Agartala municipal corporation, 13 municipal council and six Nagar panchayats.

The West district magistrate would take charge as the administrator of Agartala Municipal Corporation, while the sub-divisional magistrates would look after their respective local bodies in the state.

The order copy also cited that the state election commission has deferred the general elections of the municipalities of the state of Tripura till February 27 next year.

Reacting to the deferment of the urban local bodies, senior CPIM leader Pabitra Kar said that the polls are being announced in almost all states, but Tripura is not taking any positive step.

“In Bihar polls, the Prime Minister and Home Minister of India campaigned. The polls of local urban bodies were held in Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Hyderabad. But it is only in Tripura that the polls are not being conducted. The ruling BJP has lost their roots and is afraid to undergo polls immediately. Therefore they have deferred the elections,” Kar said.

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He also said that the West Bengal government had also postponed the elections. However, the HC interfered and ordered them to announce local body election dates immediately. “This is an irrational and undemocratic move of the state government. We condemn the decision of the government,” he added.

Pradesh Congress president Pijush Kanti Biswas has threatened to move to the High Court if polls are not announced immediately.

Reacting to the political comments, BJP state spokesperson, Nabendu Bhattacharjee said that the state election commission has observed the situation and accordingly polls were deferred.

“When the time comes, we will see in the field who wins the elections. We will not say anything if the opposition has anything to say, they can decide and take steps. We will wait until the dates are announced”, Bhattacharjee said.

Earlier, the polls of the state alone district council-Tripura Tribal Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) was deferred two times citing COVID-19 restriction by the Tripura governor.

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