Agartala, Mar 01: The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Tripura today urged the Election Commission (EC) to defer the April 20 Lok Sabha polls in Tripura in view of the tribals' Garia festival. Addressing a joint press conference here, state BJP president Ranajoy Kumar Deb, Trinamool Congress president Amal Mullick, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Birballav Saha and INPT president Bijoy Kumar Hhrangkhawl said if the Lok Sabha polls were held on April 20 in the state, a large number of tribals would not be able to exercise their democratic franchise.
In a faxed message the NDA allies urged the EC to hold the Lok Sabha (LS) election in the state in any of the date of the other three phases.
The Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) recently snapped ties with Congress and joined NDA.
The EC yesterday announced the Lok Sabha election schedule in Delhi. Election in two Lok Sabha seats in Tripura is slated for April 20 along with 139 LS constituencies in 15 states and union territories. The statutory notification will be issued on March 24 and the last date for filing of nomination will be March 31.
The Jamatia Hoda, the main religious body of the Jamatia tribes, also urged the EC to defer the LS election in Tripura. Bureau Report