BJP’s CEC meets to finalise candidates for Tripura polls

New Delhi: BJP’s Central Election Committee (CEC), including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, met at the party headquarters here on Friday to finalise the names of the candidates for the upcoming Tripura Assembly polls.

The meeting was attended by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda, senior party leaders and Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah, and Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, among others.

The meeting lasted for more than three hours. Seat-wise discussions were held to finalise the candidates’ names for the February 16 Assembly polls.

Ahead of the party’s CEC meeting, several meetings were held at the houses of Nadda and the BJP’s coordinator for north-east, Sambit Patra, on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Pradyot Deb Barman, a scion of the erstwhile royal family of Tripura and the founder of the Tipra Motha, a political party from the state, has ruled out any alliance with the BJP in the upcoming polls.

“No alliance – my heart does not agree and so I have made my decision that I cannot accept New Delhi’s offer. Whether we win or lose, will fight one last fight. I cannot betray our cause and people,” he said in a tweet.

Deb Barman reportedly met the BJP top brass to discuss the prospects of an alliance in the state and his demand for a “Greater Tipraland”. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was also present during the discussions.

Deb Barman has been demanding a separate state for the indigenous people of Tripura.

The elections to the 60-member Tripura Assembly are scheduled be held on February 16 and the last date for filing nominations is January 30. The counting of votes will be taken up on March 2.