By Express News Service
GUWAHATI: BJP-ruled Tripura went to the civic elections on Thursday against the backdrop of widespread political violence, but the day of polling has passed off peacefully. Till 3 pm, over 65% of the votes were cast, official sources said. The votes will be counted on November 28.
The state election commission said it received complaints from some political parties and candidates and they were being looked into.
Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court had issued directions to the Ministry of Home Affairs to provide two additional companies of central armed police forces so every polling booth could be secured.
The Agartala Municipal Corporation and 19 other urban local bodies (ULBs) went to the polls. The BJP more or less captured power in seven of them after winning 112 seats uncontested.
EDITORIAL | Vindictiveness and abuses of state power in Tripura
The polls were an acid test for the Trinamool Congress (TMC) as well as the Left parties, particularly the CPI-M.
Buoyed by its success in the West Bengal polls, the TMC has set its sights on Tripura, a Bengali-majority state where Assembly elections will be held in early 2023.
For the Left, which ruled the state for 25 years on the trot until being unseated by the BJP in 2018, the civic elections were a challenge to regain the lost ground.
In the run-up to the polls, the opposition parties had accused the BJP of attacking and intimidating their workers and supporters and organised protest demonstrations.
Based on a petition filed by Rajya Sabha member Sushmita Dev of the TMC In the wake of the attacks, the Supreme Court had directed the Tripura Police to ensure that no political parties were prevented from exercising their rights to campaign for the polls in a peaceful manner.
The Tripura High Court too had issued a similar direction based on petitions filed by the CPI-M.
