Agartala: The Left Front on Monday announced candidates for 28 seats in the upcoming Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (ADC) elections, naming 22 first-time contestants even as the final electoral roll and poll schedule are yet to be announced.The alliance also declared its candidate for the Dharmanagar Assembly by-election, necessitated by the death of former speaker and MLA Biswabandhu Sen in Dec last year.At a press conference, Left Front convener Manik Dey alleged irregularities in previous ADC polls, citing the elections of 1990, 2000 and 2021, which he said were affected by vote-rigging and manipulation.Dey accused the current ADC administration of mismanagement and corruption, alleging failures in education and basic services, including water shortages, hunger, child trafficking and deaths due to starvation. He said governance standards were higher during the Left’s tenure.Calling for free and fair elections, Dey criticised the state’s electoral process under BJP rule since 2018.CPM state secretary and leader of the opposition, Jitendra Chaudhury, backed the allegations, claiming state ministers were aware of corruption and irregularities in the council.Chaudhury accused the TIPRA Motha-led ADC, which is in partnership with the BJP, of using development programmes as a cover for profiteering. He said people in Tripura had experienced BJP governance and asserted that no party other than the Left Front could safeguard the state’s future.
