Agartala: BJP has failed to field candidates in over 57% of seats in village committee (VC) elections under Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (ADC), despite striking pre-poll alliances with tribal-based parties in hill areas.According to a State Election Commission report, ruling TIPRA Motha submitted nominations for 4,390 seats (nearly 95.5%), while BJP put up candidates for only 1,974 seats, accounting for 42.9% of the total.A total of 587 village committees comprising 4,597 seats are scheduled to go to the polls on Sept 28. Opposition CPM emerged as the second-largest contender, fielding candidates for 2,487 seats (54.1%).Independent candidates also entered the fray in significant numbers, filing nominations for 1,251 seats (27.2%). BJP ally IPFT fielded candidates in 486 seats (10.6%), while Congress contested 466 seats (10.1%).In several pockets, the electoral fight is shaping up primarily between TIPRA Motha and CPM, with BJP, IPFT and Congress retaining a marginal presence or failing to field candidates entirely.A similar scenario emerged in Lefunga block in West Tripura, where returning officer Prasenjit Bhowmik said BJP, IPFT, CPM and Congress candidates did not file nominations across 10 village committees. Consequently, Motha nominees emerged as the only candidates in those seats.
