The ruling BJP on Wednesday nominated ‘Maharani’ Kriti Singh Debbarma as the party candidate for Tripura East (ST) Lok Sabha seat.

The BJP earlier nominated former Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, who is currently the Rajya Sabha member, for the West Tripura Lok Sabha seat.

The Central Election Committee (CEC) on Wednesday declared its second list of 72 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and Mrs Debbarma, a former royal scion of Tripura and a social activist, is also one of the nominees.

Mrs Debbarma is the elder sister of Tipra Motha supremo and former royal scion Pradyot Kishore Debbarma.

A BJP leader said that Kriti Singh Debbarma’s father-in-law's family is associated with BJP.

“With the understanding between the leaders of BJP and the Tipra-Motha, Kriti Singh Debbarma’s name was finalised as BJP candidate for the Tripura East (ST) Lok Sabha seat,” said a BJP leader .

Welcoming the announcement, Pradyot said he had always been keen to send someone close to the state’s tribal community to the Lok Sabha to highlight the voice of the tribals and their demands.

After year-long hectic parlays and six days after signing of a tripartite agreement with the Centre and the Tripura government, the Motha on March 7 joined the BJP-led coalition government adding a new twist to state politics.

Demanding a “Greater Tipra Land” or a separate state for the tribals under Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution, and after a series of agitations in Tripura and Delhi, Tipra-Motha on March 2 signed a tripartite agreement with the Center and the Tripura government in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha and others.

According to the agreement, a Joint Working Group/Committee would be formed to work out and implement the mutually agreed issues in a time-bound manner to ensure an 'honourable' solution to tribals' demands.

“The agreement was signed amicably to resolve all the issues of the indigenous people of Tripura relating to their history, land rights, political rights, economic development, identity, culture, language etc.,” the agreement said.