Rahul Gandhi to hold rally in Tripura as campaigning ends today

Agartala: Congress president Rahul Gandhi will seek votes for his party on the last day of campaigning in the poll-bound northeastern state Tripura on Friday.

According to reports, the Congress chief will address a public meeting at Ramkrishna Mahavidyalaya Stadium Ground in Unakoti district.

Assembly polls will be held in Tripura on February 18 and the results will be declared on March 3.

The CPI(M)-led Left Front government is ruling Tripura for 35 years since 1978 sans a gap of five years from 1988 to 1993. 

A coalition partner of Congress and now-defunct Tripura Upajati Juba Samiti had ruled the state during that five years.

This time, the Narendra Modi-powered BJP is contesting 51 out of the 60 Assembly seats, while its ally Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) is fighting on nine seats.

The Congress had fielded candidates for all the 60 seats in the state, but one of them withdrew his nomination later.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC), which had faced a jolt last year in the state after six of its MLAs joined the BJP, has formed an alliance with the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra (INPT) and the National Conference of Tripura for the upcoming election.

The Mamata Banerjee-led party has fielded candidates from 24 constituencies in the north-eastern state.

(With Agency inputs)