Tripura VC polls: No major complaints during nominations, 74 CAPF companies to be deployed

The Tripura State Election Commission has received no formal complaint of any major incident during the nomination process for the upcoming Village Committee elections, State Election Commissioner P K Chakraborty said on September 10, maintaining that the overall situation in the state remains peaceful.

The Village Committee elections are scheduled to be held on September 28 across Tripura.

The nomination process began on September 1 and concluded on September 8, while scrutiny of nomination papers was completed on September 9. Candidates can withdraw their nominations until September 11.

Chakraborty said there were a few minor untoward incidents during the nomination process, but they were resolved promptly following the intervention of the Commission.

"Except for a few untoward incidents, the situation remains peaceful. We have not received any written complaint from any political party or candidate alleging that they were prevented from filing nominations," he said.

The State Election Commissioner, however, acknowledged that some candidates were initially stopped from entering the premises of Returning Officers to submit their nomination papers.

"After our intervention, they were able to file their nominations," Chakraborty said.

74 CAPF companies for poll security

On security arrangements, Chakraborty said adequate forces, including the Tripura State Rifles (TSR), Tripura Police and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), would be deployed to ensure peaceful polling.

The Centre had initially approved the deployment of 24 CAPF companies in Tripura. Following a request from the State Election Commission, the state government approached the Centre seeking additional forces, after which another 50 companies were approved.

"As many as 74 CAPF companies will be deployed. They will be positioned in sensitive as well as other areas to maintain law and order," Chakraborty said.

He added that police have already started area domination exercises as part of the security preparations ahead of polling.

Meanwhile, the Commission has no provision for designated model polling stations for the Village Committee elections, the State Election Commissioner said.

Training of polling personnel is scheduled to begin from next week, he added.

The Village Committee polls are being closely watched as political parties intensify their preparations across Tripura ahead of the September 28 voting.