Tripura elections: Fate of 259 candidates sealed as polling continues; 3 hurt in violence incidents

Tripura Assembly elections: Barring some incidents of violence in Tripura, which went to the polls on Thursday, polling remained peaceful. As per Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Gitte Kirankumar Dinakarrao, a total of 69.96 per cent of 28.13 lakh voters exercised their franchise till 3 pm. 

Three persons — a CPM leader and two polling agents of the Left party —were injured in separate incidents of violence during the polling.

The voter turnout in the Tripura Assembly elections stood at over 51.35 per cent at 1 pm, 32.06 per cent at 11am, and 13.69 per cent at 9 am. The fate of the 259 candidates will be sealed in the ongoing polls for 60 Assembly seats.

The polls this year will see a triangular contest, with the Congress-CPM fighting in alliance and the Trinamool Congress also fielding candidates in several seats. The Tipra Motha, an alliance of regional outfits, is the dark horse in the ongoing election and could emerge as the kingmaker in the event of a hung Assembly.

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The BJP has declared candidates for 55 assembly seats, leaving the remaining five seats for its ally, the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT). The Left-Congress alliance declared candidates for all 60 seats.

According to Election Commission, there are over 28.14 lakh registered voters this year of which 14,15,233 are men, 13,99,289 are women and 62 belong to the third gender.

Polling was conducted in a total of 3,337 polling stations. Adequate security arrangements wre made with 97 all-women police stations. As many as 94,815 voters are in the age group of 18-19 years while 6,21,505 belong in 22-29 age group. The highest number of voters is in the 40-59 age group, at 9,81,089.

Tripura is the first state to go to the polls this year while polling for Nagaland and Meghalaya Assemblies will be held on February 27. Five more states will go to polls this year, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. 

The CEO said EVM malfunctioning was reported in 40-45 places. However, all machines were replaced and voting resumed.

Chief Minister Manik Saha, who is contesting the polls from Town Bardowali constituency, was among the early voters. He exuded confidence that the BJP will secure an absolute majority in the assembly.

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“I am 100 per cent confident that the BJP will secure absolute majority in the elections. The party may get more seats than it did the last time,” he told reporters on his way to a polling booth here. The counting of votes will take place on March 2. 

- With inputs from agencies

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