Tripura assembly resolution to advance ADC polls to Apr 12

Agartala: The Tripura assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution seeking to reschedule the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council elections from April 23 to April 12, a day after the original date was announced.The move came after members across party lines flagged a clash between the earlier poll date and several major festivals.During zero hour, Congress MLA and former minister Sudip Roy Barman said the April 23 schedule overlapped with Buisu, other indigenous festivals and the Bengali New Year, and argued that an earlier election would help avoid conflicts and improve voter turnout. He also raised concerns over the timing of the result declaration, originally scheduled for April 17, saying it could have a bearing on elections in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. He proposed postponing the counting date to prevent any possible influence on those state polls.The proposal received support from all sides of the House.CPM leader of the opposition Jitendra Chaudhury said the ruling BJP had already approached the State Election Commission to reconsider the date.TIPRA Motha MLA Ranjit Debbarma and IPFT leader and cooperation minister Shukla Charan Noatia also supported advancing the election, stressing the need to respect cultural observances.CM Manik Saha said the election schedule was tight and noted that a delay could require the appointment of an administrator. However, Roy Barman said constitutional provisions allowed the ADC to continue under a caretaker Chief Executive Member, making such an appointment unnecessary.