Tripura Congress delegation meet ECI, demands re-poll in West LS Seat

Weeks after the conclusion of the first phase of polling in Tripura’s West Parliamentary Constituency, the Tripura Congress has met with the full bench of the Election Commission of India (ECI), including Chief Election Commissioner Rajib Kumar in New Delhi, demanding a re-poll in the parliamentary constituency. 

Speaking with reporters, Asish Kumar Saha Tripura Congress President, who was also a candidate for the West Parliamentary Constituency, said that a 8 members of All India Congress Committee , comprising Rajib Shukla, Supriya Shrinate, Sudip Roy Barman, and three more advocates, met with the ECI team, including Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, informing him about the misconduct and poll manipulation in Tripura’s first phase of elections.

“A delegation of AICC met with the full bench of the Election Commission of India based on some complaints regarding the recently concluded elections in Tripura. In the first phase of the election, held on April 19, we lodged many complaints regarding poll manipulation and other MCC violations. There were instances of misconduct by the state government and the ruling BJP. During the election, our polling agents were prevented, and many were forcibly removed from polling stations. False votes were cast. Even BJP supporters attacked some voters, preventing them from casting their votes. We complained about the misconduct of former Tripura CM Biplab Kumar Deb, who was also a BJP candidate, with the support of the administration and the government,” he said.

Saha further alleged that the Tripura Chief Electoral Officer, Puneet Agarwal, had assured Tripura Congress regarding the three-tier security system, but it was not implemented.

“The security system was not as promised by the CEO, and as a result, many voters failed to cast their votes. Identified opposition voters were unable to cast their votes, and false votes were cast to increase the voter turnout. The majority of people failed to cast their votes, and that's why we have demanded a re-poll,” he added.