JOIN USTripura votes as CPI(M)-Congress, Tipra Motha look to wrest power from BJP
Polling to elect a new Assembly in Tripura began at 7 am on Thursday amid elaborate security arrangements.
A little over 28.13 lakh voters will exercise their franchise in 3,337 polling stations to elect the 60-member Assembly amid elaborate security arrangements. Voters lined up since early morning in several polling stations in order to cast their votes early.
Officials said over 31,000 polling personnel would conduct the polling between 7 am and 4 pm. The officials said elaborate security arrangements have been made by deploying over 25,000 security personnel as the EC set the target of conducting the elections in Tripura peacefully.
The Opposition parties had urged the EC for more security measures as Tripura had witnessed violence in the past and alleged political violence in the run up to this elections.
The EC identified 1,100 polling stations as sensitive and 28 others as critical.
Former CM and senior BJP leader Biplab Kumar Deb will caste his vote at Udaipur English Medium School in Gomati district.
Pradyot Manikya Deb Barma, the Chief of Tipra Motha party will leave the Royal Palace in Agartala at 10.30 am in order to cast his vote at Abhiram Mukumu SB School at Mandai Bazar constituency (ST).
The main contest in the seats out of Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), comprising nearly 70 per cent voters, is likely to be between the ruling BJP-IPFT alliance and the CPI(M)-Congress, contesting the Assembly elections in a seat sharing arrangement for the first time in Tripura. In the remaining 21 seats under TTAADC, Tipra Motha, a regional party headed by Pradyot Deb Barma, the scion of erstwhile Royal family, is likely to give a tough fight to BJP-IPFT.
Motha, a party born out of the anti-CAA agitation, however, had put up candidates in 42 constituencies. The party had made the demand for "Greater Tipraland" state as its main poll plank. It also rejected an offer for alliance both from BJP and CPI (M)-Congress. The CPI (M) leader, Jitendra Choudhury said the Opposition parties would try to "help each others" during polling to ensure defeat of BJP's defeat.
The CPI (M)-Congress claims that people of Tripura would vote against BJP-IPFT as they "demolished democracy" by attacking the Opposition parties and the dissenting voices in the past five years. BJP, on the other hand, claims that it would win over 50 seats and would form the government on its own. The party claims people of Tripura are happy with the development works done since 2018 and don't want to bring the "dark days" of CPI (M) and Congress days.
Counting of votes will take place on March 2.