LS Polls: BJP fields TMP supremo's sister Kriti Singh Debbarma from Tripura East

The BJP on Wednesday nominated ‘Maharani’ Kriti Singh Debbarma' as the party candidate for the Tripura East (ST) Lok Sabha seat.

The party had earlier nominated former Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, who is currently a Rajya Sabha member, for the West Tripura Lok Sabha seat.

The Central Election Committee (CEC) of the BJP on Wednesday announced its second list of 72 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, which included the name of Debbarma, a former royal scion and social activist in Tripura, as a nominee.

Debbarma is the elder sister of Tipra Motha Party (TMP) supremo and former royal scion Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barman.

A BJP leader said that Debbarma’s father-in-law's family is associated with the BJP.

“With the understanding between the leaders of the BJP and the TMP, Kriti Singh Debbarma’s name was finalised as the BJP candidate for the Tripura East (ST) Lok Sabha seat,” a BJP leader told IANS, refusing to be named.

Welcoming the announcement, Deb Barman said he had always been keen to send someone close to the state’s tribal community to the Lok Sabha to highlight the voice of the tribals and their demands.

After year-long hectic parlays and six days after the signing of a tripartite agreement with the Centre and the Tripura government, the TMP on March 7 joined the BJP-led coalition government in the state.

According to the agreement, a joint working group/committee would be formed to work out and implement the mutually agreed issues in a time-bound manner to ensure an 'honourable' solution to the tribals' demands.

Demanding a 'Greater Tipra Land' or a separate state for the tribals under Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution, and after a series of agitations in Tripura and Delhi, the TMP on March 2 signed a tripartite agreement with the Centre and the Tripura government in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha and others.