Tripura Village Committee polls tomorrow; 6.65 lakh voters, 74 CAPF companies deployed

The Tripura State Election Commission has completed administrative and security arrangements for the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) Village Committee elections scheduled for Monday, September 28, with around 6.65 lakh voters eligible to cast their ballots.

Polling will be held for 2,950 of the total 4,597 seats across 587 Village Committees, according to a statement issued by the State Election Commission.

As many as 1,644 seats have already been declared elected unopposed, while three seats remain vacant as no nominations were received from political parties.

A total of 8,176 candidates from different political parties are contesting the election.

Polling will take place at 1,095 of the 1,550 identified polling stations where candidates are in the fray. Ballot papers in four colours — white, light pink, light green and light blue — will be used for different seats to help voters and polling personnel identify them.

The Commission said 74 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) have been deployed across the state, along with around 8,977 personnel from the Tripura Police and Tripura State Rifles (TSR).

More than 1,500 senior officers from various security agencies have also been deployed to monitor the law-and-order situation. Additional security arrangements have been made at highly sensitive polling stations.

Around 7,458 polling personnel, organised into 1,243 teams, have been assigned election duties. The teams, along with polling staff and election materials, began moving to their respective polling stations on Sunday morning, with most teams having reached their destinations, the Commission said.

After polling ends on Monday, the teams will return with ballot boxes to designated receiving centres at the offices of the respective Returning Officers.

The SEC said polling personnel had been trained and briefed on standard operating procedures for the ballot-based election process. Coordination and training meetings with Returning Officers were also held through video conferencing.

Counting centres have been identified across the state, while counting supervisors and assistants are being appointed and trained ahead of the counting process.

The State Election Commission appealed to all eligible voters to participate in the election and exercise their constitutional right peacefully.