Agartala, Sept 19: The Tripura unit of BJP has stepped up its organisational activities ahead of the September 29 Village Committee elections, with senior leaders meeting in Agartala to review preparations and strengthen the party’s grassroots network in the areas where polling will be held.

An organisational meeting of the BJP’s state unit was held at Muktadhara Auditorium on Saturday, bringing together senior leaders and key functionaries to take stock of election preparedness.

Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha attended the meeting along with BJP state president Abhishek Debroy, Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy, Agriculture Minister Ratan Lal Nath, MP Rajib Bhattacharjee, former Union Minister Pratima Bhowmik and former MP Rebati Tripura.

The meeting comes against the backdrop of the BJP’s alliance with Tipra Motha for the Village Committee elections. According to the election figures, no contest will be required in 1,630 of the total 4,597 Village Committee seats, with 1,548 seats going to Tipra Motha and 82 to the BJP unopposed. BJP is contesting the VC polls in alliance with Tipra Motha and IPFT.

Polling will consequently be held for around 2,900 seats on September 29, while counting of votes is scheduled for October 5.

During the organisational meeting, BJP leaders reviewed election-related activities and discussed coordination among workers, booth-level preparedness and measures to further strengthen the party’s organisational presence in the areas going to polls.

Party functionaries were also briefed on the need for closer coordination between different levels of the organisation and effective mobilisation of the grassroots network during the remaining period of the election process.

The Village Committee elections assume significance as the BJP and Tipra Motha are contesting under an alliance arrangement, while the BJP is separately working to consolidate its organisational presence in the seats where it has fielded candidates.

As per the final electoral roll published on June 15, a total of 9,61,978 voters are eligible to cast their votes across the Village Committees in the state. The electorate comprises 4,82,041 male voters, 4,79,930 female voters and six voters registered under the third-gender category.