Tripura TTAADC village committee polls begin amid tight security

Polling for the Village Committee elections under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) began on Monday, September 28, with elaborate security arrangements in place across the state. No untoward incident had been reported till the time of filing this report.

Speaking to India Today NE, Tripura State Election Commission (SEC) Secretary Anurag Sen said voting started smoothly at all polling stations at 7 am.

The elections are being held for 2,950 seats across 587 Village Committees. Of the total 4,597 seats, 1,644 have already been declared elected unopposed, while three seats remain vacant after no nominations were received.

A total of 8,176 candidates representing different political parties are in the fray. Around 6.65 lakh voters are eligible to cast their ballots in the constituencies where polling is taking place.

Voting is being conducted at 1,095 of the 1,550 identified polling stations where candidates are contesting. Four different colours of ballot papers — white, light pink, light green and light blue — are being used for different seats to make it easier for voters and polling personnel to identify them.

The SEC has deployed 74 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) across Tripura for the elections. In addition, around 8,977 personnel from the state police and Tripura State Rifles (TSR) have been deployed, along with more than 1,500 senior officers from various security agencies to oversee the law-and-order situation.

Additional security measures have been put in place at polling stations classified as highly sensitive, where CAPF personnel have been deployed.

As many as 7,458 polling personnel, organised into 1,243 teams, have been assigned election duties across the polling stations.

West Tripura district Superintendent of Police Namit Pathak, who was inspecting polling stations, said voting began on schedule and voters had started arriving at polling stations.

“The polling started at 7 am. Voters are arriving to cast their ballots and the overall situation remains peaceful,” Pathak said.

He added, “Security forces have been deployed, and a total of 29 polling booths are under West Tripura district where polling is being conducted.”