AGARTALA, Nov 24 � Altogether 532 candidates of different political parties are all set to contest the elections in 230 wards of Agartala Municipal Council (AMC) and 15 Nagar Panchayats. The election is scheduled to be held on December 11.
Though the number of candidates is an all-time high in this year�s civic bodies� election, the battle of ballot will be direct � CPM-led Left Front versus Congress. According to political analysts, the election will be a litmus test for the ruling Front after Trinamool Congress and INPT have decided to opt out of the electoral battle.
The ruling Front and its arch rival Congress have fielded their aspirants in all the 230 Wards while BJP have been able to put up only 57 candidates.
According to the political analysts, the battle of ballots will be tough one as Trinamool and INPT have decided to �support� the Congress. However, both Trinamool and INPT have already made it clear that they were in favour of a direct fight between the CPM and its rival Congress.
The State Election Commission has already geared up for conducting the election smoothly. Polling personnel will cast their votes on December 9, a day before departure for their respective polling booths. All the polling personnel will exercise their franchise on printed ballot papers the printing of which will start on November 27.
As many as 3,000 polling staff will be engaged in the polling process. The number of polling booths stand at 546. Observers have already started visiting their areas to review the election arrangement. Political parties have also started their election campaign in poll-bound areas and flags of both CPM and Congress were seen fluttering in town areas.
