Tripura: BJP, CPI-M announce nominees for lone Rajya Sabha seat

Agartala: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition CPI-M on Tuesday separately announced their candidates for the lone Rajya Sabha seat in Tripura, for which the election will be held on September 3. BJP General Secretary Arun Singh announced Rajib Bhattacharjee’s name in Delhi along with the nominees for eight other RS candidates in seven different states, while CPI-M Tripura state Secretary Jitendra Chaudhury announced Sudhan Das’ name as the party nominee. A Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) loyalist for the last 36 years, Bhattacharjee is currently the president of the ruling BJP’s Tripura state committee. He had unsuccessfully contested last year’s Assembly election from the Banamalipur constituency. Bhattacharjee’s election to the Upper House is almost certain as the BJP has 33 members in the 60-member assembly while its two allies, Tipra Motha Party (TMP) and Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) have 13 and one, respectively.

The opposition Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) has 10 MLAs and the Congress 3. Former Minister and Congress Working Committee member Sudip Roy Barman said that they would discuss in the party forum about supporting the CPI-M nominee. The CPI-M and the Congress contested last year’s Assembly polls and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in seat-sharing adjustment mode. Unlike many senior and prominent faces in the BJP-led government in Tripura, Bhattacharjee, 52, has always maintained a low-profile. He is seen as a time-tested face for the BJP. He joined the party in 1991.

Left leader Das, 64, is a senior member of CPI-M Tripura State Secretariat. He is a prominent Dalit leader, and a six-time MLA from Rajnagar (SC) Assembly Constituency in Tripura. Two Union Ministers — Ravneet Singh Bittu and George Kurian — have also been nominated for the Rajya Sabha by the BJP.  Ravneet Singh Bittu, who hails from Punjab, has been nominated from Rajasthan while George Kurian — a Kerala native and long-standing member of the BJP — was named from Madhya Pradesh for the Rajya Sabha.

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