Agartala, April 2 (IANS): CPI-M leader Rajendra Reang, who is the opposition INDIA bloc candidate for the Tripura East-ST seat, submitted his nomination papers on Tuesday.

The main contest in Tripura East, which goes to polls in the second phase of the elections on April 26, is expected to be between Reang and his BJP rival Kriti Singh Debbarma, the scion of Tripura's erstwhile royal dynasty. She filed her candidature on March 28, the first day for filling nominations.

After a big rally, attended by senior leaders of CPI-M, Congress and other parties, Reang, a former CPI-M MLA, submitted his nomination papers to Dhalai District Magistrate Saju Vaheed A.

Addressing the gathering in Dhalai district headquarters Ambassa, Left Front convener Narayan Kar said that Reang’s father Sarbajoy Reang was brutally killed by the National Liberation Front of Tripura militants in 2001 and his family sacrificed a lot for the welfare of the tribals.

"Reang is a member of a martyr family. He was also tortured by the militants. For the sake of the democracy and development of Tripura, people should vote for the CPI-M candidate," he said.

CPI-M state Secretary and Leader of Opposition leader Jitendra Choudhury said that the Left parties and the Congress are fighting together against the BJP to save the democracy, constitution, unity, and integrity of the country.

"Despite the BJP having assured to provide two crore jobs every year to the unemployed youths, they utterly failed to keep their promise," he said, claiming that the BJP is the "most corrupt party in the world".

Reang expressed his disappointment over the BJP government's failure to address the basic needs of the people, especially those belonging to tribal communities. He asserted that the growing support for the INDIA bloc and the people in the coming parliamentary elections would oust the "authoritarian regime" led by the BJP at the Centre.

Congress MLA and CWC member Sudip Roy Barman said that the country is in danger now and the BJP is trying to win the Lok Sabha elections by putting the opposition leaders in jail and freezing Congress bank accounts. "BJP leaders only highlight their fake development agenda and make people fools. It is now certain that the INDIA bloc would come to power at the Centre with a thumping majority," said Roy Barman, a former minister of the BJP government headed by Biplab Kumar Deb.

Deb is the BJP nominee for the Tripura West Lok Sabha seat, and Congress state President Ashish Kumar Saha is the INDIA bloc candidate.