Tripura bypolls: After CPM, now TMC asks poll panel to declare all booths ‘hypersensitive’

Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee is all set to join a road show in Tripura on June 14 in support of party candidates for the bypolls.

TMC general secretary and Tripura in-charge Rajib Banerjee said his party had earlier made similar demands. (Express photo)

A week after the Opposition CPI(M) demanded that the Election Commission declare all 221 booths headed for bypolls in four Assembly segments in West Bengal on June 23 as “hypersensitive”, the Trinamool Congress on Saturday made a similar demand and said it is awaiting the outcome of the next all-party meeting scheduled shortly.

Speaking to reporters at the Agartala press club on Saturday evening, TMC general secretary and Tripura in-charge Rajib Banerjee said his party had earlier made similar demands and sought the Election Commission’s intervention to declare all polling booths “vulnerable” and “hypersensitive” considering the political situation prevalent in the state.

“We made similar demands earlier. We asked for webcasting, CCTV and central forces at 100 per cent booths. We have another all-party meeting soon. Let’s see, we shall comment after the meeting,” Banerjee said.

The TMC leader said the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee would join a road show in Tripura in support of TMC candidates on June 14.

Also read | Tripura Left Front fields CPM, Forward Bloc candidates for June 23 Assembly bypolls

Chief electoral officer Kiran Gitte recently said the bypoll process would see 100 per cent webcasting instead of 50 per cent as initially announced. The decision came in the wake of the Opposition’s concerns about law and order violations in previous elections in the state and was welcomed by Banerjee. “We shall hope for the best. If the ECI acts like that, it is certainly something to appreciate. But we have lots of doubts and shall wait and watch. We also want further stringent actions,” Banerjee said.

Earlier on May 30, Gitte had assured that concerned district magistrates and police superintendents would review the security situation in the areas that would go to bypolls, assess vulnerabilities and categorise the 221 booths as normal, critical or vulnerable.

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However, his assurances were taken with a pinch of salt as Congress leader Ashish Kumar Saha, CPI(M) leader Ratan Das and TMC’s Tapas Kumar Roy said they were apprehensive of political violence and urged the Election Commission to ensure free and fair bypolls.