The Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued a show-cause notice to the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra (INPT), proposing to delist it from the roster of registered political parties under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
According to the Commission, the INPT has not fielded a single candidate in any election to the Lok Sabha, State Legislative Assembly, or in any by-election over the past six years, since 2019. This inactivity, the ECI said, indicates that the party has “ceased to function as a political party” for the purposes outlined in Section 29A.
Exercising its powers under Article 324 of the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act, the Commission has called upon the INPT to submit a written representation, along with an affidavit from the party president or general secretary and supporting documents, by August 28, 2025 (forenoon).
The ECI has also scheduled a hearing on the same day at 3:00 pm in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Tripura, Agartala. The hearing must be attended by the party’s president, general secretary, or head.
The Commission warned that if the party fails to respond within the stipulated time, it will be presumed that the INPT has no objection, and action for deregistration will be taken without further communication.
The INPT, once a prominent voice in Tripura’s tribal politics, has been largely inactive in recent years.
