Assembly elections: Trouble brews in Tripura BJP

Senior leader refuses to contest from the constituency allocated to him

A vector illustration of a white voting ballot box on a blue background. A blank voting paper is sticking out of the slit in the top of the box where txt or a logo can be placed. the box is casting a shadow towards the bottom right corner of the image. No is written on the front of the box in blue bold font.

A senior BJP leader refused to contest from the constituency allocated to him as resentment is brewing in the party over the selection of candidates for the February 18 Assembly elections in the State. Subal Bhowmik, vice-president of the party State unit, cited personal reasons for his refusal to fight from the Sonamura constituency in Sepahijala district.

‘Family issues’

“The party has honoured me with the nomination. However, I am unable to accept it because of family issues,” he told

The Hindu on Sunday.

The BJP announced the list of 44 candidates in New Delhi on Saturday. The party has allocated nine of the 60 seats to the Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura. Announcement of the first list of candidates has fuelled anger within the BJP in some areas.

Party workers displayed their ire against rejection of competent candidates in the constituencies of Barjala, Pratapgarh, Bamutia and Nalchar, all reserved for the Scheduled Castes.

Helped in expansion

But Mr. Bhowmik’s decision not to contest has rattled the party as he is credited with the fast expansion of the BJP in the State in recent years.

As a Congress nominee, he won from the constituency in the 2008 Assembly elections, defeating CPI(M) stalwart Subal Rudra, but was unsuccessful in the 2013 polls, for which he blamed “sabotage” from within the party.

Later, he left the Congress and raised his own party, which ultimately merged with the BJP.

Asked for the reason for his decision not to contest from Sonamura, Mr. Bhowmik said he had never sought the nomination, but when approached by the top brass of the BJP, he had insisted on a constituency in Agartala.

His aides said he had wanted either the Banamalipur or Bordawali constituencies — both have continuously elected non-Left candidates.

BJP State president Biplab Kumar Deb got Banamalipur as the party was reportedly looking for a “safe seat” for him, and Bordawali went to Ashish Kumar Saha, MLA, sources said.