Tripura sets national record of 93 pc voter turnout!

Tripura on Thursday set a new record for the country's highest-ever voter turnout with 93 per cent polling in the state assembly elections.

The Left Front is hoping to return to power for a record fifth time in the elections to the 60-member assembly in the north-eastern state.

Tripura had recorded a voter turnout of 91.22 per cent in the last assembly polls in 2008, which was so far the highest in the country. The state has a total electorate of 23,58,493
voters.

"Though the polling percentage is still being compiled as the last vote was cast after 8 pm, preliminary data indicates that Tripura has recorded the highest ever percentage of 93 per cent," said Chief Electoral Officer Ashutosh Jindal.

Polling started at 7 am and continued till well beyond 4 pm as people in large numbers were seen standing in long queues outside several polling stations. The last vote was cast till past 8 pm, poll officials said.

The Communist Party of India – Marxist had won 46 seats and the Communist Party of India got one seat while the Congress bagged 10 seats in the last assembly polls.

The Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura got one seat and the Revolutionary Socialist Party bagged two seats.

In Delhi, Deputy Election Commissioner Alok Shukla said the highest voting of 99 per cent was recorded in a polling booth at Chanman JB School under Radha Kishorpur assembly constituency in Gomati district, where 600 of the 605 voters cast their votes.

Police said that five crude bombs hidden in a bush were recovered from Bodhjungnagar area of Khayerpur constituency by a patrol unit of the Central Reserve Police Force. No untoward incident was reported during the polls.

Voting had to be stopped at Sonamura in West Tripura district and Dharmanagar in South Tripura district for some time following a technical snag in EVMs. It resumed ten minutes later, after the EVMs were replaced, poll officials said.