Agartala, March 16 (IANS): The ruling BJP and the opposition Congress and CPI-M in Tripura welcomed the announcement of the Lok Sabha election schedule for the two seats in the state on Saturday, saying they are fully prepared to contest the polls.

BJP spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharjee said that his party is fully prepared for the elections, adding that the ‘Karyakartas’ (party functionaries) like the ‘Panna Pramukhs’ and ‘Vistaraks’ have been deployed in the field long back, and the poll campaign is already at its peak.

“Our party leaders and ‘Karyakartas’ have been on the ground for a long time now. They are reaching out to every family in the state with the message of strengthening the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We are confident of victory as we feel the people of the country have made up their minds to see Narendra Modi as the PM for a third term,” Bhattacharjee told the media.

The BJP is confident that while it will win both the Parliamentary seats in Tripura, its opponents will not manage more than one lakh votes in either of the constituencies, he added.

Tripura Congress President and Lok Sabha candidate from the West Tripura seat, Ashish Kumar Saha, said that the party has been getting good response from the voters during campaign.

“We are campaigning for victory. People will give their mandate fearlessly. Unlike previous elections, we want free, fair, and violence-free elections this time,” the Congress leader said, adding that a delegation of party leaders recently met Tripura's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) and urged him to ensure violence-free polling.

A CPI-M leader also said that the party has written several letters to the Chief Election Commissioner and the CEO, urging them to conduct violence-free elections in the state.

The elections to the Tripura West Lok Sabha seat and the by-elections to the Ramnagar Assembly constituency will be held on April 19, while the Tripura East (ST) Lok Sabha seat will go to polls on April 26.

The BJP won both the Lok Sabha seats for the first time in 2019, with present Union Minister Pratima Bhoumik and teacher-turned-politician Rebati Tripura emerging triumphant from Tripura West and Tripura East, respectively.

However, both Bhowmik and Rebati Tripura have been dropped this time, as the party has fielded Kriti Singh Debbarma and former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb from Tripura East and Tripura West seats, respectively.

A resident of Chhattisgarh, social activist Debbarma is the elder sister of Tipra Motha Party (TMP) supremo and royal scion Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barman.