Guwahati: The ruling BJP and Tipra Motha on Wednesday named Kriti Singh Deb Barma, the sister of Tripura royal scion Pradyot Deb Barma, as the candidate for the Tripura East Lok Sabha constituency.
This comes days after Tipra Motha signed an agreement with the government that promised to solve the problems of the indigenous people and subsequently joined the BJP-led government.
Two Tipra Motha MLAs, Animesh Deb Barma and Brishaketu Deb Barma were sworn in as ministers in Manik Saha government on March 7.
Triprua has two Lok Sabha seats. Tripura East is reserved for the Scheduled Tribes. Former CM and senior BJP leader Biplab Kumar Deb was earlier named as the candidate for Tripura West seat.
Welcoming the BJP parliamentary Board's decision to field Kriti Singh, Rajiv Bhattacharjee said that the 52-year-old Deb Barma is married in a royal family in Chhattisgarh and her husband is also an MLA.
"Both BJP and Tipra Motha will work hard to ensure her victory," he told reporters in Agartala.
Kriti Singh Deb Barma was seen in recent programmes of Tipra Motha in Tripura.
On Tuesday, Pradyot said that the party would send its "own people" to the Lok Sabha in order to prevent alleged efforts to block the process for solving the problems confronting the indigenous people.
Interestingly, Pradyot had several times in the past publicly said that none from the erstwhile royal family would contest the elections or hold any post in the government.
Tipra Motha had earlier refused to forge an alliance with BJP and other parties without a written assurance about fulfilling its demand for "separate Tipraland" and a Constitutional solution to the problems of the indigenous people.
However, the party decided to join the BJP-IPFT government after signing the tripartite agreement on March 2.