Lok Sabha polls: Tripura State Rifles jawans posted outside to be enrolled as service voters

Leader of the Opposition Jitendra Chaudhury of the CPM had written to the chief election commissioner requesting that the 2,000 TSR personnel deployed be allowed to vote in the Lok Sabha elections.

In reply to his letter, Additional Chief Electoral Officer S Bandopadhyaya said the matter was drawn to the attention of the Election Commission. “The ECI accordingly confirmed their eligibility for enrolment as service electors and advised us to take the initiative for their enrolment. Thereafter, all such TSR personnel are being facilitated to be enrolled as service voters. A report indicating action taken in this regard has been received from the state police nodal officer,” he wrote.

Tripura will go to the polls on April 19 and April 26 and the Assembly bypoll in Ramnagar will be held on April 19.

In last year’s Assembly polls, the TSR personnel deployed outside the state could not exercise their franchise. There are 14 TSR battalions.