By Firstdespatch Desk Mar 09, 2026
Agartala, Mar 9 (FD) The Opposition Left Front on Monday announced its list of candidates for 27 of the 28 seats in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), even before the formal announcement of the election schedule. The alliance also declared its nominee for the upcoming Dharmanagar Assembly by-election.
The elections for the tribal council is scheduled to be held in April this year.
The announcement was made in the presence of CPI (M) State Secretary Jitendra Chaudhury, who said that the early declaration of candidates would help nominees intensify their grassroots campaign ahead of the council polls.
The Left Front has fielded Amitabha Datta, a member of the CPI(M) State Secretariat, as its candidate for the Dharmanagar Assembly constituency by-poll. The seat fell vacant following the death of Tripura Assembly Speaker Biswabandhu Sen last month.
According to the list released by the alliance, the CPI(M) will contest the majority of the seats, while a few have been allotted to its partners — the All India Forward Bloc (AIFB), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), and the Communist Party of India (CPI).
The list reflects a combination of experienced leaders and several new faces, indicating the alliance’s effort to balance organisational experience with younger leadership for the upcoming elections.
Addressing a press conference, Left Front convener Manik Dey said the alliance was fully prepared to contest the elections and described the upcoming polls as crucial for the region.
He said the district council had gone to other parties during different periods in 1990, 2000 and 2021, but claimed that those outcomes did not reflect the true mandate of the people. Dey also alleged that corruption was widespread in the council under the present ruling party.
“Corruption is rampant in the district council under the present ruling party. They are also unable to pay pensions to pensioners,” he alleged.
Dey further claimed that several irregularities were taking place in the functioning of the council administration and alleged that basic services such as education and drinking water remained inadequate in areas under the council’s jurisdiction.
CPI(M) State Secretary Jitendra Chaudhury said the candidates were selected after careful evaluation, taking into account factors such as experience, educational qualifications and representation of younger leaders.
The Machmara seat has been allotted to the AIFB, and the name of the candidate for that constituency will be announced later.
With the early declaration of candidates, the Left Front has effectively kick-started its campaign for the upcoming ADC elections even before the Election Commission announces the official poll schedule. FD JK