Agartala: Tripura’s village committee elections were largely peaceful on Monday, barring a few reports of voter intimidation and allegations of polling irregularities.State Election Commission (SEC) officials said about 79% of voters had cast their ballots by 6 pm. The turnout could rise as voters were still queuing at several locations.SEC secretary Anurag Sen said there were no major incidents and credited the district administrations with ensuring peaceful polling.However, CPM alleged bogus voting, obstruction of its candidates and polling agents, and difficulties in accessing polling stations.Radhacharan Debbarma, senior CPM leader and former chief executive member of Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (ADC), alleged that polling agents of opposition candidates were barred from several booths.He cited difficulties faced by opposition candidates and their representatives before and during the elections in Jirania and Mandai in West Tripura, and parts of Sepahijala district. Debbarma alleged that candidates faced problems submitting nomination papers and that their authorised election agents were prevented from attending polling stations. He also claimed that reports of bogus voting emerged in the early hours of polling.The ruling BJP dismissed the allegations, saying CPM lost the polls during the nomination phase itself and was making baseless claims to protect its image.BJP state president Abhishek Debroy praised voters, election officials, security personnel, political parties and the public for ensuring a high turnout in the election, which he described as an important exercise in grassroots democracy.SEC rejected the allegations, saying the administration acted promptly whenever delays or possible disturbances were reported and that no major issues were recorded by the end of polling.Polling was held for 587 village committees under ADC, covering 4,597 positions across 2,634 constituencies. Ballot papers were used. Counting is scheduled for Oct 5, with the elections being held after a decade.
