Tripura ready for assembly elections on February 16

A little over 28.13 lakh voters will exercise their franchise in 3,337 polling stations across Tripura on Thursday to elect the 60-member Assembly amid elaborate security arrangements.

Officials said over 31,000 polling personnel would conduct the polling between 7 am and 4 pm. A total of 259 candidates including 11 women are in the fray. 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 Election Commission (EC) to make better security arrangements as Tripura had witnessed violence in the past and alleged political violence before and during polling. The EC identified 1,100 polling stations as sensitive and 28 others as critical.

Also Read: Tripura Elections 2023: Key issues that charged the poll battle

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, has put up candidates in 42 constituencies. The party has made the demand for 'Greater Tipraland' state for the tribals (nearly 30 per cent population) as its main poll plank. It also rejected an offer for alliance both from BJP and CPI(M)-Congress.

Also Read: Tipra Motha chief says 'will not be in politics' after polls

The CPI(M) leader, Jitendra Choudhury, however, said the Opposition parties would try to "help each other" during polling to ensure defeat of BJP candidates.

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 over 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 back to the state. The CPI(M) was in power in Tripura for 25-years till 2018 when BJP formed its first government.

Counting of votes will take place on March 2.