There are 18 candidates including two women contesting in two Lok Sabha seats in Tripura, but the main contests expected to be witnessed between ruling BJP candidates and nominees of INDIA bloc.

In the 2019 parliamentary elections, there were 23 candidates, including three women, who fought the elections and BJP candidates – Pratima Bhowmik (Tripura West) and Rebati Tripura (Tripura East) – won both the seats.

In Tripura West Lok Sabha seat, nine candidates are in the fray. They include BJP nominee and former Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and Congress state President Ashish Kumar Saha, who is a consensus candidate of eight party INDIA bloc in Tripura.

In Tripura East constituency, there are nine candidates including two women who are trying their electoral fortunes. They include BJP contender Kriti Devi Debbarma and CPI-M’s Rajendra Reang, who is unanimous nominee of the INDIA bloc.

However, the scrutiny of nominations in Tripura East constituency, reserved for the tribals, will take place on Friday and the last date of withdrawal of candidatures on April 8.

Most of the 18 candidates including those of BJP and INDIA bloc are for the first time contesting the Lok Sabha elections.

Both the CPI-M and the Congress won Tripura’s two Lok Sabha seats several times but the  ruling BJP won both seats for the first time in 2019, with Union Minister Pratima Bhoumik (Tripura West) and teacher-turned-politician Rebati Tripura (Tripura East) emerging triumphant.

However, both have been dropped this time by the BJP.

A controversy rocked the electoral politics since the BJP nominated Kriti Devi Debbarma as its contender for the Tripura East Lok Sabha seat.

A resident of Kawardha District of Chhattisgarh, Debbarma is the elder sister of Tipra Motha supremo and royal scion Pradyot Kishore Debbarma.

BJP chosen 52-year-old Debbarma after the Motha signed a tripartite agreement with the Union Home Ministry on March 2 for the development of the tribals and the party joined the BJP led government on March 7.

Two of the Tipra-Motha MLAs made ministers in the BJP led council of ministry led by Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha.

Amidst the controversy over Debbarman, the Chief Minister and senior BJP leader defended her candidature and asserted that her roots in Tripura as she is the scion of the Tripura royal family and daughter of Maharaj Kirit Bikram Debbarman.