Agartala, April 16 -- Tripura, which has traditionally witnessed a direct or triangular contest, will for the first time in seven decades see a multi-cornered battle as the ruling BJP has emerged as a potent political force after last year's Assembly polls.
While one of the two Lok Sabha seats in the state went to the polls on April 11, Tripura East will vote on Thursday.
Since 1952, the Left parties have won the East Tripura seat 12 times and the Congress four times.
The CPI-M, which has a substantial base both among the tribals and non-tribals in Tripura, has been winning the tribal reserved seat uninterruptedly since 1996.
In last year's Assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party secured 36 seats in the 60-member Assembly and got 43....