Elections for the West Tripura Lok Sabha constituency and by-elections for the Ramnagar assembly constituency were held in the first phase of the national elections on Friday. While the elections were largely peaceful, there were a few disturbances and allegations of malpractice.
Election officials said the voter turnout for both the Lok Sabha and assembly by-election is expected to exceed 75%, although the final tally has yet to be announced.
The CPI(M) and Congress, who are fighting the elections in Tripura under a seat-sharing arrangement, have alleged that their polling agents were prevented from entering booths in many places. A delegation from the INDIA block, including Congress Lok Sabha candidate Asish Kumar Saha and CPI(M) leader Pabitra Kar, met with the Chief Electoral Officer and the West Tripura Returning Officer to lodge a complaint against alleged malpractices and rigging in many places.
EC not neutral
Congress leader and former Health Minister Sudip Roy Barman accused the election commission of failing to remain neutral and fulfill their assigned responsibilities. Both Congress and CPI(M) have also claimed that voters were threatened in many places, including the Ramnagar assembly constituency where the by-election was held.
BJP candidate Dipak Majumder, however, denied the allegations, stating that they were completely false and far from the truth. BJP state President Rajib Bhattacharjee also accused Sudip Roy Barman and “a former CPI(M) Chief Minister” of spreading false information about the BJP and its candidates.
He stated that they have lodged a complaint with the Election Commission and are prepared to take legal action. Bhattacharjee claimed that the opposition knows they are losing the battle and are trying to save face by making headlines. However, the voting process was disrupted in some stations due to EVM and VVPAT malfunctions.
In one instance, voting was briefly halted at the Bajrabari school booth in Gomati district in south Tripura after CRPF jawans had to disperse an unruly mob. The election commission has issued a show cause notice to TIPRA founder Pradyot Kishore Debbarman after he made a call for votes through his social media platform during the silence period.
The royal scion sought votes for BJP candidates in the West Tripura and East Tripura (ST) seats, as well as the assembly by-election for the Ramnagar segment. The election for East Tripura will be held on April 26 in the second phase of the polls.
