Tripura By-poll: Voting begins peacefully with 40.11 per cent till 11 am

Amidst tight security, the by-election which is underway in Tripura’s Boxanagar and Dhanpur Assembly Constituency has recorded 40.11 per cent till 11 a.m 

The election in these two assembly constituencies located in the Sepahijala district of Tripura started at 7 AM this morning and will continue till 4 PM.

“The election has started from 7 AM in the morning. So far no report of any kind of violence has been reported. In three locations including one in Dhanpur and two in Boxanagar, EVM malfunctioning was reported which was solved immediately. So far the poll going on in a peaceful way. Till 9 AM 18.92 % is the voter turn out”, said Sepahijala Districtr Returning Officer Dr Vishal Kumar to India Today NE.

However, till 11 am, the constituencies recorded 40.11 per cent voter turnout till 11 am.

Later, a report from the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO)’s office informed that 18.97 percent voter turnout our recorded in Boxanagar and 18.71 percent in Dhanpur as of 9 a.m. 

Polling commenced at 7 a.m. in 59 booths within the Dhanpur Assembly constituency and 51 booths in Boxanagar, with voting scheduled to continue until 4 p.m.

The by-elections were necessitated due to the passing of CPI(M) MLA Samsul Haque, who represented the Boxanagar constituency, and the resignation of Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Pratima Bhoumik. She contested and emerged victorious on a BJP ticket from Dhanpur.

In this electoral contest, the dominant forces are the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Opposition CPI(M). Notably, both the Congress and TIPRA Motha, the primary Opposition party in the Tripura Assembly, have opted not to participate in these by-elections.

In Dhanpur, the electoral contest appears to be a direct showdown between the BJP's candidate, Bindu Debnath, and the CPI(M)'s Kaushik Chanda.

While, in the minority-dominated Boxanagar constituency, which is still considered a stronghold of the Left party, BJP's Tafajjal Hussain will now face off against CPI(M)'s Mizan Hussain.

A total of 95, 075 voters including 48,110 male, 45,124 female, 160 services, 1217 are 80+ voters and 463 PwD voters will cast their votes.