BJP sweeps Tripura local body polls; TMC touts its rise as main opposition

In a boost for Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, the BJP has won or is leading in 329 of the 334 seats of local bodies in the state.

As counting of votes continued into early evening of Sunday, the BJP had won all 13 municipal bodies and six nagar panchayats. The CPI(M) won three seats and the Trinamool Congress won one, while one seat was won by an independent candidate.

In the Agartala Municipal Corporation, the BJP has won 49 of the 51 wards and is leading in the remaining two.

Elections were held to 222 seats on November 25. The BJP had earlier won 112 seats unopposed.

Despite the BJP's stupendous victory, the Trinamool Congress claimed the results were an indicator of the party's prospects in the 2023 assembly polls. TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh claimed the TMC had forayed into Tripura only two months back and was able to secure second place in several seats, “despite the violence unleashed by the ruling BJP”.

He declared, “2023 is ours; it (the results) forms the foundation of Trinamool's victory in 2023.”

TMC MP Saugata Roy expressed similar optimism. He was quoted by Republic TV as saying, “Whatever happened in Tripura is intimidation, we shall defeat the BJP eventually.”

BJP MP and party national vice president Dilip Ghosh was euphoric. He told Republic TV “People did not pay heed to TMC's charade and trusted the Biplab Kumar Deb government.”

(With inputs from Rabi Banerjee)