Tripura district council polls end with 83 per cent turnout, re-poll announced in one polling station

Amid a few sporadic incidents, the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council election on Sunday, April 12 concluded peacefully at 5 pm, recording voter turnout of 83 per cent.

Speaking to India Today NE, Secretary of the Tripura State Election Commission (SEC), Anurag Sen stated that the voter turnout reached around 83 per cent by 5 pm and may increase further after final compilation.
He added that the polling process was largely peaceful, although a few complaints were received.

“The election started at 7 am this morning and concluded with an 83 per cent voter turnout at 5 PM. Polls have now been completed. We are compiling all reports, and by this time, almost all polling stations have closed. No major violence has been reported. However, in some places, minor issues were reported, and these were resolved by the police administration. Some instances of chaos were also reported in parts of the state, but these were brought under control. We have not received any formal reports of major disturbances. We are keeping a close watch, and as of now, the overall situation remains peaceful. There has been no malfunctioning of EVMs. However, during the morning mock polls, wherever issues were detected, machines were immediately replaced. As such, there are no reports of EVM replacements during actual polling,” he said.

Sen further informed that the SEC has announced a re-poll at polling station 17/39 under the 17 Pekurjala-Janmejoynagar constituency in Sepahijala district, following complaints of tampering with a ballot unit. The re-poll will be held on April 16.

Meanwhile, sources from Tripura Police reported a few minor incidents, including the hurling of seven crude handmade bombs in the Boxanagar area of Sepahijala district.

“In response, police fired five rounds of blank shots to disperse the miscreants. The situation is now under control. In other parts of the state, minor incidents were also reported, including the vandalism of a vehicle belonging to a BJP candidate. One person was injured and later died. Apart from these incidents, the overall situation remains peaceful,” police sources said.