An overall 81.21 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) Village Committee elections held on September 28, State Election Commissioner P K Chakravarti said on Tuesday.
The State Election Commission has ordered re-polling in three seats across two constituencies and two polling stations. Re-polling will be held on October 3, Chakravarti said at a press conference at the Secretariat.
The re-poll has been ordered for seats 3 and 4 of constituency number 2 in Gamaria Village Committee under Matabari RD Block and seat 4 of constituency number 4 in Paharpur Village Committee under Amarpur RD Block.
Chakravarti said the re-poll in Gamaria was ordered after reports indicated booth capturing and tampering with ballot boxes and ballot papers. In Paharpur, the re-poll was ordered over a discrepancy in symbol allotment and printing-related issues, he said.
The elections were held across 587 Village Committees. A total of 9,61,977 voters were eligible to vote, while 1,644 candidates were declared elected unopposed following the nomination and withdrawal process.
“Polling was conducted in the remaining 44 RD blocks, covering 432 Village Committees, 1,768 constituencies and 2,956 seats, with 8,176 candidates from various political parties in the fray. A total of 6,58,247 voters were assigned to 1,095 polling stations,” he added.
The State Election Commission had also facilitated voting by officials engaged in election duty, security personnel and others connected with the poll process. A total of 6,628 election duty votes were cast.
Chakravarti said the initial turnout reported by returning officers after 4 pm on September 28 was around 79 per cent. At the time, about 10,850 voters were waiting in queues at polling stations in 28 blocks and were issued slips by presiding officers.
Based on the reports recorded in the presiding officers' diaries, the voter turnout was subsequently revised to 81.01 per cent. After adding the election duty votes, the final turnout stood at 81.21 per cent.
On the law and order situation, Chakravarti said the elections were by and large peaceful across polling stations, though some incidents were reported. He said the commission had received eight complaints from political parties, mostly concerning obstruction of polling agents and preventing them from participating in the electoral process.
Reports have been sought from observers and returning officers, and some complaints were disposed of after being found to lack sufficient basis, he said. Other inquiries are pending and action will be taken based on the reports received.
Chakravarti also said the commission had received a representation from a Tipra Motha delegation regarding reports of firing and injuries of a party candidate and two others at Warengbari SB School. The matter was taken up with the police authorities and the Home Department for necessary action.
The re-poll on October 3 will begin at 7 am, while counting of votes is scheduled for October 5 from 8 am at designated centres in the 44 blocks.