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Journalism of Courage
The ruling BJP in Tripura on Sunday declared its general secretary Papia Dutta as the party candidate in Agartala constituency for the upcoming Assembly polls. Dutta will be in the fray against former minister and six-term Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman.
Speaking to reporters, Papia Dutta said, “The party has given a lot to me at different times since 2013. It is time to give something back. I am confident of victory. The BJP government’s main mantra is Sabka sath, sabka vikas. Everyone in Agartala constituency is contesting this election through me. I am just a face. I am confident of winning”.
Dutta happens to be the last and final candidate announced by the saffron party for the 2023 Assembly elections scheduled to be held on February 16 in the state.
The BJP earlier announced two candidate lists, naming 48 candidates in the first one and six in the second. On Saturday, the saffron party also declared that it will be continuing the alliance with its 2018 partner the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) and announced that it would share five seats with them.
The BJP will be contesting in 55 out of the 60 seats in the state Assembly. The allies have announced that they would fight the polls on the basis of the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) agreed between the two parties in 2018, including a high-power committee to examine socio-economic, cultural and linguistic development of tribals.
The high-power committee was formed soon after the parties came together in 2018 but the committee’s findings are yet to be made public, which has been a major bone of contention between the partners.
