83 per cent polling in Tripura

About 83 per cent of the electorate on Saturday exercised their franchise in the elections to the 60-member Tripura Assembly.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) G S G Ayyangar said polling even continued beyond the scheduled hours in several booths of different parts of the state.

The voting percentage was roughly about 80 per cent in 2003 Assembly election and this time it is likely to touch about 90 per cent, Ayyangar said.

Barring the kidnapping of a Left Front leader in Raimavelly of Dhalai district on Thursday night, there had been no report of any poll-related violence so far, he stated.

It was for the first time that the EC conducted the Assembly election in any of the North-eastern states, using 100 per cent photo electoral rolls and Photo Identity Card (EPIC), he said.

The electoral fortunes of 313 candidates, including 31 women and 64 Independents, were decided in today's election.

The aspirants included Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, 10 of his Cabinet colleagues and senior Congress leaders and former chief ministers Samir Ranjan Barman and Sudhir Ranjan Majumdar.

The Left Front, which has been in power since 1978 save for a short spell in 1988, is contesting for the first time without ally Forward Bloc, which quit the coalition.

Security was stiff with four IAF helicopters in the air surveying hilly, remote and insurgency prone areas to monitor the movement of rebels.

About 16,000 election officials escorted by security forces were deployed at polling stations.

Each election official had a life insurance cover of Rs 2,00,000, he said. A record number of 60,000 security personnel, mostly paramilitary forces, including the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Border Security Force and Central Reserve Police Force were deployed.

A total of 108 polling stations had been identified as 'very vulnerable' with two sections of Central paramilitary deployed.

Of the 2,372 polling stations, 550 booths were identified as vulnerable.

The ruling CPI-M-led Left Front is locked in direct contest with the opposition Congress-Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura alliance.

Altogether 313 candidates, including 28 women aspirants, were in the fray with 20,3,5877 voters expected to exercise their franchise.

The CPI-M-led Left Front, which has won the elections five times since 1978 except in 1988, suffered a serious setback with Forward Bloc quitting the coalition on differences over seat-sharing.

The CPI-M has put up 56 candidates, while its two remaining allies -- Revolutionary Socialist Party and CPI -- would contest in two seats each.

The Tripura unit of FB, which quit the Front on January 25 over seat sharing for the assembly polls, was contesting 11 seats.

The opposition Congress was contesting in 48 seats and its two allies -- INPT and People's Democratic Socialist Party -- were contesting in 11 and one seats respectively.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded 49 candidates allotting 11 seats to its new electoral partner United Democratic Front.

All round development and establishment of peace by containing militancy were the main poll planks of the Left Front.

The Congress during its campaign highlighted alleged corruption, uneven development and misuse of Central funds.

The national leaders of all political parties, including Prime Minister Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, BJP leaders Rajnath Singh and Murli Manohar Joshi and CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat took
part in the month-long campaign.