CPI(M) Records Highest Rejections of Nomination Papers, 859 Candidates Remain in Fray Across 21 Urban Local Bodies After Scrutiny, 20 Candidates Rejected

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, November 7, 2026

The scrutiny of nomination papers for the upcoming Tripura Urban Local Bodies (ULB) elections has revealed a significant political development, with the ruling BJP emerging as the sole beneficiary of uncontested seats across five civic bodies in the state. A total of 65 seats have gone uncontested, with BJP candidates emerging as the only nominees in all these seats.

According to the cumulative scrutiny report released on November 7, a total of 1,109 nomination papers were received from different political parties and candidates across 21 Urban Local Bodies comprising 345 wards/seats. Of these, 49 nomination papers were rejected during scrutiny. In terms of candidates, 879 had submitted nominations, of whom 20 were rejected, leaving 859 candidates eligible to contest the civic elections.

Party-wise figures indicate that the BJP submitted the highest number of nominations, with 345 candidates and 467 nomination papers. CPI(M) followed with 263 candidates and 359 nomination papers, while the Congress submitted 221 candidates with 232 nomination papers. TMP submitted 15 candidates with 15 nomination papers, while 35 candidates from the Others category submitted 36 nomination papers. No IPFT candidate was recorded in the cumulative report.

The party-wise rejection figures show that CPI(M) recorded the highest number of candidate rejections, with 12 candidates rejected out of 263, leaving 251 eligible candidates. The party also topped the list in rejected nomination papers, with 37 papers rejected. The Congress recorded five candidate rejections, leaving 216 candidates eligible, while seven of its nomination papers were rejected. The BJP recorded three candidate rejections, leaving 342 valid candidates, while five nomination papers were rejected. No candidate rejection was recorded against TMP or the Others category.

A comparison of the 21 civic bodies shows that Agartala Municipal Corporation recorded the highest number of valid candidates, with 164 candidates remaining in the contest for 51 wards. Dharmanagar Municipal Council followed with 75 valid candidates for 25 seats, while Udaipur Municipal Council recorded 64 candidates for 23 seats.

At the other end of the scale, Kamalpur Nagar Panchayat and Jirania Nagar Panchayat recorded the lowest number of valid candidates, with just 11 candidates each for their respective 11 seats. In both civic bodies, all 11 candidates belong to the BJP. Ranirbazar Municipal Council recorded 13 valid candidates for 13 seats, while Santirbazar and Mohanpur Municipal Councils recorded 15 valid candidates each for their respective 15 seats.

The most significant political outcome of the scrutiny process is that five civic bodies have become completely uncontested, with the BJP securing all 65 seats without facing any electoral contest. These include Kamalpur Nagar Panchayat with 11 seats, Santirbazar Municipal Council with 15 seats, Ranirbazar Municipal Council with 13 seats, Jirania Nagar Panchayat with 11 seats and Mohanpur Municipal Council with 15 seats.

Thus, the BJP has emerged as the beneficiary of all 65 uncontested seats, with no opposition candidate remaining in the electoral contest in these five civic bodies. Kamalpur and Jirania have recorded uncontested outcomes in all 11 seats each, while all 15 seats in Santirbazar and Mohanpur and all 13 seats in Ranirbazar have also gone uncontested.

The development represents a substantial political advantage for the ruling BJP ahead of the civic elections. While the party has retained the highest number of valid candidates statewide, its uncontested position in five civic bodies is particularly significant. The opposition parties, meanwhile, will face electoral contests in the remaining 16 Urban Local Bodies, including Agartala Municipal Corporation, Dharmanagar, Udaipur, Belonia and Bishalgarh.

With 859 valid candidates remaining in the fray across 21 urban local bodies, the stage is now set for the next phase of the electoral process. The scrutiny report establishes the uncontested position following scrutiny, while the formal declaration of elected candidates will follow the prescribed election procedures.

Source: Tripura State Election Commission, Cumulative Nomination Scrutiny Report dated November 7, 2026.

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