The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Tripura has clinched about 70 percent of the seats in the state's three-tier panchayat system uncontested, according to an official announcement on Tuesday.
The panchayat system, which includes gram panchayats, panchayat samitis, and zilla parishads, comprises a total of 6,889 seats.
The BJP secured 4,805 of these seats without facing any opposition, said State Election Commission (SEC) Secretary Asit Kumar Das.
In the gram panchayats, the BJP won 4,550 out of 6,370 seats uncontested, meaning that no elections will be held for 71 percent of the seats. Among the 1,819 gram panchayat seats where polling will take place, the BJP has candidates in 1,809 seats.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] has fielded nominees in 1,222 seats, and the Congress in 731 seats. BJP ally Tipra Motha has candidates in 138 seats.
Polling will not be held immediately in one seat in Maheskhala Panchayat in West Tripura district due to the death of the BJP candidate, Das added.
In the panchayat samitis, the BJP won 235 out of 423 seats uncontested, which accounts for 55 percent of the total seats. Elections will now be held for 188 seats.
The BJP has fielded candidates in all 188 seats, while CPI(M) has nominated candidates in 148 seats, and Congress in 98 seats. Tipra Motha has fielded candidates in 11 seats.
Das also noted that the BJP won 20 out of 116 zilla parishad seats uncontested, which is around 17 percent of the total seats. For the remaining 96 zilla parishad seats where polling will be held, the BJP has fielded candidates in all the seats, while CPI(M) and Congress nominees are in the fray in 81 and 76 seats, respectively.
The last date for the withdrawal of candidature was July 22, and polling is scheduled for August 8, with votes to be counted on August 12.
In the previous elections, the BJP had won 96 percent of the seats in the three-tier panchayat system unopposed.
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