Tripura Congress convenes meeting on June 18 to decide on alliance for rural polls

The Congress unit in Tripura has convened a meeting on June 18 to take feedback from its leaders on the alliance with Left parties for the three-tier panchayat elections in the state, a party MLA said on Saturday.
    
The elections to zilla parisads, panchayat samities and gram panchayats- in the northeastern state are due in August.
    
“Tripura Pradesh Congress president Asish Saha has convened a meeting on June 18 to get views from party leaders on the alliance strategy for the upcoming panchayat elections”, MLA Sudip Roy Barman told reporters.
    
In last year’s assembly elections and the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, the Congress forged an alliance with the Left parties but could not succeed.
    
Roy Barman said a concrete decision on the alliance with the Left parties for the panchayat elections will be taken after considering the views of leaders from districts and blocks.

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Meanwhile, a five-member Tripura congress delegation met the state election commissioner and demanded free, fair and peaceful rural polls.
    
“The opposition parties could not field their candidates in 95 per cent of the total seats in zilla parisads, panchayat samities and gram panchayats during the last elections. We requested the state election panel to take steps so that opposition parties could submit their nomination papers during the scheduled time.
    
"We also suggested online submission of nomination papers for the panchayat elections," Madan Saha, TPCC vice president said after the meeting with the state election commissioner.
    
He also sought the deployment of central paramilitary forces to ensure free, fair and peaceful polls.