Tripura Municipal Elections: Counting of votes began on Sunday for more than 200 seats of Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) and other municipal bodies during the Tripura municipal elections. However, there have been allegations of rigging in these elections and attacks on political rivals in the state. Counting of votes has started at 13 polling stations in all the eight districts of Tripura, where a three-tier security arrangement has been made, a State Election Commission official said.
According to media reports, incidents of alleged violence, arrests, sit-in demonstrations in Delhi during the Tripura municipal elections and the Supreme Court's direction to the authorities to conduct peaceful polling became a topic of discussion. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI) had alleged malpractices during the voting on Thursday. Both the parties demanded re-polling in various municipalities. However, the ruling BJP rejected these allegations.
Assistant Inspector General of Police Subrata Chakraborty said that apart from the general security arrangements, 'Tripura State Rifles' and the Central Armed Police Force have also been deployed to maintain law and order in the areas adjoining the counting centers1 Urban Local Bodies (AMC, 13) in the state. Municipal Councils and six Nagar Panchayats) have 334 seats.
The ruling BJP has fielded candidates on all the seats and won 112 of them unopposed. In the remaining 222 seats, 785 candidates are in the fray. The ruling BJP, Trinamool Congress and CPI(M) are face to face in the electoral battle. The Trinamool Congress wants to establish itself as a national party in the Northeast and elsewhere, while the CPI(M) was ousted from power in the state by the BJP a few years back.
Strict Supreme Court regarding elections in Tripura, said- Force should be deployed till counting of votes, media coverage should be allowed
The Trinamool, which has alleged rigging and intimidation in voting, has demanded the cancellation of the entire election, while the CPI(M) has demanded fresh elections in five civic bodies, including the AMC. Both parties claimed that BJP supporters attacked political rivals and rigged the elections, but the government remained a mute spectator. However, the BJP has vehemently denied these allegations. Out of a total of over 4.93 lakh voters, 81.54 per cent exercised their franchise in the election.
