Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Agartala: Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman challenged the ruling BJP on Thursday, November 12. He questioned their development claims and demanded a fair path for the upcoming urban local body elections scheduled for November 27. The former minister wants the State Election Commission and the Director General of Police to flood polling booths with Central Paramilitary Forces. He labeled these booths hyper-sensitive.
Roy Barman claims troublemakers plan to rig the vote. He pointed to Ward No. 4, where he alleges outsiders from Joram intend to meddle with the process. He told reporters, "If the government was confident of its performance, it should allow people to express their choice freely through a democratic election."
The legislator reported a pattern of intimidation across Kamalpur, Ambassa, Mohanpur, Jirania, Ranirbazar, and Santirbazar. He cited a brutal assault on a Congress youth leader and the destruction of a Left Front candidate's home in the Agartala Municipal Corporation area. Opposition workers currently face constant threats while trying to campaign.
Roy Barman urged the public to film electoral violence and share the footage with the media. He specifically mentioned a journalist threatened while covering these events. He insists that media members must work without fear to help expose those trying to steal the election.
Updated at 13th November 2026 at 7:00pm
Roy Barman also poked holes in the BJP's recent rally themes, where the ruling party preached about restoring democracy and stopping lawlessness. He contrasted those political slogans with the ground reality of intimidation reports surfacing across the state.
Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee president Asish Kumar Saha joined the fray on November 13, accusing the BJP of strong-arming opposition candidates into withdrawing from the race. During a door to door campaign in Ward No. 20 of the Agartala Municipal Corporation, Saha claimed the BJP used similar intimidation tactics to seize 21 municipal bodies during the 2021 elections.
Saha took aim at the municipal administration's five-year record, slamming them for hiking property and water taxes while failing to deliver basic civic services. He also hit the ruling party over the rising cost of cooking gas, electricity tariffs, and essential goods, claiming voters are feeling the financial squeeze.
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