Despite a series of meetings between the ruling BJP and its alliance partner Tipra Motha Party (TMP) to finalize their strategy for the upcoming Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) Village Committee elections, including seat-sharing, candidate selection and withdrawal of excess nominations, the alliance arrangement appears to have failed to reflect on the ground.

On the final day of withdrawal of candidature on Friday, September 11, State Election Commission (SEC) sources said that a total of 1,630 seats have been left uncontested, while 9,820 candidates, including a significant number of tribal women, are in the fray for 4,597 seats in the Village Committee elections scheduled for September 28.

Earlier on Thursday, leaders of the BJP-led ruling alliance and TMP had reached an understanding that there would be no division of votes between alliance partners and that candidates fielded by both parties in the same constituencies would withdraw to ensure joint contests.

However, the final candidate list after the withdrawal deadline indicates a different picture. According to SEC sources, the BJP is contesting 1,853 seats, while its alliance partner TMP has fielded candidates in 4,279 seats and the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) is contesting 356 seats.

SEC sources said that although BJP and TMP candidates have withdrawn from some seats as per the alliance decision, the arrangement has not been fully reflected at the ground level, with both parties still contesting in a large number of constituencies.

The elections are being held for 4,597 seats across 2,634 constituencies covering 587 Village Committees under the TTAADC, which are equivalent to Gram Panchayats in non-TTAADC areas. The polls are being conducted after a gap of 10 years.

The BJP, along with its tribal allies TMP and IPFT, is contesting against the opposition CPI(M)-led Left Front and the Congress in these politically significant elections.

According to SEC officials, among the 9,820 candidates, the highest number of nominations has been filed by TMP with 4,279 candidates, followed by CPI(M) with 2,151 candidates, BJP with 1,853 candidates, Congress with 425 candidates and IPFT with 356 candidates. Around 753 Independent candidates are also in the fray.

Of the total 4,597 seats, 1,630 seats have received only a single nomination, allowing candidates to be declared winners without a contest.