Agartala, 7th November 2026 : A total of 1,109 nomination papers have been filed by 879 candidates for the upcoming Urban Local Bodies General Election 2026 in Tripura, State Election Commissioner P.K. Chakraborty said on Saturday. The scrutiny of nomination papers is underway across the state, with Returning Officers examining the documents to finalise the list of validly nominated candidates.
Addressing the media, Chakraborty said the nomination process was conducted from October 31 to November 6 across all 21 urban local bodies, including the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC), Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats.
Providing the party-wise breakdown, the State Election Commissioner said the BJP had submitted 467 nomination papers for 345 candidates, while the CPI(M) filed 359 nomination papers for 263 candidates. The Congress submitted 232 nomination papers for 221 candidates, Tipra Motha Party filed 15 nomination papers for 15 candidates, while other political parties and Independent candidates accounted for 36 nomination papers filed by 35 candidates.
Chakraborty further revealed that five urban local bodies have witnessed nominations exclusively from BJP candidates. These include three Municipal Councils — Santirbazar, Ranirbazar and Mohanpur — and two Nagar Panchayats, Amarpur and Jirania. No candidates from opposition parties filed nomination papers in these five urban bodies.
Focusing on the Agartala Municipal Corporation, the largest urban local body in the state with 51 wards, the Commissioner said a total of 192 nomination papers had been filed by 164 candidates. Of these, 51 candidates are from the BJP, 44 from the CPI(M), 51 from the Congress and 18 from other political parties and Independent candidates.
Addressing concerns over allegations that opposition candidates were prevented from filing nominations in certain areas, Chakraborty said the Commission had taken necessary steps in advance to ensure adequate security arrangements at the offices of Returning Officers and along the routes used by candidates to submit their nomination papers.
He said the Commission had communicated with the concerned Returning Officers and District Magistrates, directing them to ensure sufficient deployment of security personnel wherever necessary. According to the feedback and written reports received from the district administrations and Returning Officers, the required security arrangements had been put in place.
He added that Returning Officers had also held all-party meetings with representatives of political parties to facilitate a smooth nomination process. The District Magistrate of Dhalai had separately held a meeting in connection with the Kamalpur area, while the West Tripura District Magistrate had remained in coordination with the Returning Officers.
However, according to the feedback received from the Returning Officers, no candidate had physically appeared at their respective chambers with nomination papers in certain cases where allegations of obstruction had been raised, the Commissioner said.
Chakraborty also clarified the Commission’s position regarding the High Court proceedings concerning the nomination process in the five urban local bodies. He said the Commission came to know about the case on the afternoon of November 6, as it had not received any formal notice directly. Officials of the Urban Development Department, the nodal department for the elections, were present during the proceedings, along with a representative of the Commission.
Referring to the court’s order, he said the matter concerned making arrangements to facilitate the submission of nomination papers. However, he pointed out that the High Court order did not contain any specific direction for extending the nomination deadline.
The State Election Commissioner maintained that the Commission had not created any disruption or obstacle in the nomination process. Rather, it had taken necessary measures, particularly regarding security deployment, to ensure that candidates could submit their nomination papers without hindrance.
The scrutiny process is being conducted on November 7 in accordance with the election schedule, following the completion of the nomination filing period on November 6.
