Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters wearing PM Modi face masks take part in an election rally organised on the last day of campaigning for the Tripura Assembly elections, in Unakoti district, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023. (PTI Photo)
Among the 28,13,478 eligible voters, 14,14,576 voters are men and 13,98,825 are women, while there are a record 77 transgender voters. As many as 13,500 Bru migrants from Mizoram, who are being permanently resettled in parts of Tripura as per a central government initiative to end their protracted displacement, would be able to cast votes in the Assembly elections. There will be 3,328 polling stations at 2,504 places across the state, with average voters per station this year being 845.
“As many as 31,000 polling personnel and 25,000 security personnel of central forces are ready to conduct the election in a free, fair and peaceful manner. Besides, 31,000 employees of the state armed police and the state police will be deployed to maintain law and order,” news agency PTI quoted the Chief Electoral Officer as saying.
The BJP campaign for the Tripura polls saw a slew of star campaigners, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, party president J P Nadda, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Assam CM and North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) chief Himanta Biswa Sarma, visiting Tripura on different occasions.
Meanwhile, the Opposition CPIM and its Left Front partners held rallies in all Assembly constituencies before the campaign hour ran out. Major rallies were held at Dhanpur, Sabroom, Belonia, Panisagar and Khowai constituencies, along with the rest of the seats where Left Front candidates are contesting, not to mention the seats where Congress candidates are in the fray. Joint processions of Congress and Communist party supporters were seen at the rallies, with many flaunting colourful balloons, ribbons and flags.
All Congress candidates held either roadshows or rallies in their areas, especially at Agartala where MLA Sudip Roy Barman joined a rally with Congress and CPIM supporters on board. MLA Ashish Kumar Saha was found heading a major rally at his seat, Town Bardowali as well, where he would be having a face-off with CM Saha.
TIPRA Motha, which rules the state’s tribal autonomous district council, will go solo since no political party has given it a written assurance on its core demand of Greater Tipraland, party chief Pradyot Kishore reiterated, adding that his party would rather sit in the Opposition than join a government without the assurance.
On behalf of the Trinamool Congress, West Bengal Education Minister and senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Bratya Basu said the party is very organised before the polls this time. He added that the party did not have a proper organisational structure in the past due to which it could not do well despite support for TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee. However, Basu said, whether TMC would be chosen as the true alternative to BJP is “subject to discussion”.
To know more about politics in Tripura, also read:
Bengali concerns, tribal hopes, and a three-way race: The essential Tripura election primer
In Tripura battle, ‘king’ may be kingmaker
BJP fears gap narrowing in Tripura as Left, Cong inch closer gingerly
‘Greater Tipraland’: With Tripura assembly elections in 2023, a lookback at the demand for the state
A ‘greenhorn’ CM vs a seasoned MLA in Town Bardowali contest
‘Pulling strings’ for election awareness: Puppetry turns heads in poll-bound Tripura
Rajnagar: Voters show their identification cards as they wait in queues to cast their votes at a polling booth during the Tripura Assembly elections, in Rajnagar, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023. (PTI Photo)
The Tripura elections now come to a close with over 81% voter turnout being recorded on Thursday. Next up, Meghalaya and Nagaland will go to polls on February 27 and the results for all three states will be declared on March 2, 2023.
Stay tuned to the Express' live updates!
The Election Commission has said the Tripura assembly elections remained "largely violence-free". While the tentative voter turnout was recorded at around 80 per cent, the final turnout figures will be known by tomorrow.
EC officials told PTI that no complaints have been received so far by the EC demanding repolling. "There have been no reports of any major violence or attack on candidates or (polling) agents, intimidation of voters, throwing of bombs, repoll (or) damage to EVMs. As against 168 repolls in the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, today's polls in 60 assembly seats in Tripura have been largely peaceful with no (demand for) repoll reported so far," the poll panel said.
On Sunday, Rahul Gandhi travelled to Kerala for a short visit to Wayanad. He had not been to his Lok Sabha constituency in a while, but the timing made news for another reason – it coincided with the last stages of the election campaign in Tripura. In 2018, the Congress drew a blank in Tripura. The same year, the entire Northeast became “Congress-mukt” after it lost power in the sole state remaining with it, Mizoram.
This time, the party entered into an ambitious understanding with old rival Left in Tripura, and was allotted by all accounts a generous 13 seats, given its 2018 count. The new friends are seen as having a good chance in the state, given the anti-incumbency against the BJP government and given the narrow, bridgeable vote gap between the BJP and CPI(M) in 2018. Manoj CG writes
A turnout of 81.10 per cent has been recorded as voting draws to a close in Tripura amid incidents of violence, the Election Commission said. (Picture courtesy: PTI)
A turnout of 81.10 per cent has been recorded as voting draws to a close in Tripura amid incidents of violence, the Election Commission said.
At least three people, including a CPI(M) leader and two polling agents of the Left party, were injured in separate incidents of violence during the polling, news agency ANI reported.
A CPI(M) local committee secretary was injured after being attacked by unidentified people in Boxanagar area in Sepahijala district. A police officer told PTI that the CPI(M) leader was taken to a nearby health facility, where his condition is stated to be stable.
Two CPI(M) polling agents were also severely beaten up in Kakraban assembly constituency in Gomati district. A vehicle belonging to the polling agent of CPI(M) candidate Pabitra Kar was also ransacked at Khayerpur in West Tripura district.
Tripura recorded a voter turnout of 69.96 per cent till 3 pm, the Election Commission said.
A scuffle was reported at a polling station under 37 Kakraban Assembly constituency, Sumit Lodh, ADM and Collector, Tripura, said, ANI reported. Lodh said that the sector magistrate held an inquiry, and a case was registered.
Source: CEO Office
The Election Commission said that seizures totalling over Rs 147 crore have been recorded so far in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland, news agency PTI reported. This marks a 20-fold increase in recovery of drugs, liquor and cash meant to induce voters in the run-up to the polls.
A special inter-agency team constituted to control illegal drugs resulted in Rs 14.12 crore worth of ganja cultivation being destroyed in Tripura. "The recorded seizures in the three states mark a significant increase with over 20 times increase in seizures as compared to assembly elections in 2018," the poll panel said.
For over two decades, time stood still at Naisingpara, the largest relief camp in Tripura for families of the Bru community who had to flee Mizoram in 1997 due to ethnic violence.
“But there has been one change. We have voting rights in Tripura now,” says Lalfakawmi Bru, a single mother of five. Read our ground report here.
The Election Commission shared photos of the migrants voting for the first time in Tripura.
Voters of Raima Assembly Constituency were seen travelling by boats in Dumbur Lake in Dhalai district of Tripura to cast their votes during the Assembly elections.
Courtesy: CEO office
According to data shared by ANI, Tripura saw a voter turnout of 51.35 per cent till 1 pm.
The Election Commission of India Thursday said seizures of cash, liquor, drugs, precious metals and other freebies meant for distribution in the states of Tripura, where polling is ongoing, and poll-bound Meghalaya and Nagaland, have increased twenty-fold compared to the 2018 Assembly elections.
In a statement, the ECI said its thrust on “inducement-free elections” had led to sustained efforts towards election expenditure monitoring. During the 2018 election season, total seizures of Rs 7.24 crore were made, the ECI said. This year, as of Thursday, seizures of Rs 147.84 crore had been made. Read more
“Shh”, he whispers into the microphone and silence descends on the gathering of a few thousands. They have assembled on Wednesday at a ground in Ampinagar, an Assembly constituency reserved for Scheduled Tribes in Tripura’s Gomati district, to hear their “bubagra” (king) Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma, 44, chief of the TIPRA Motha party.
The shush, a no-fail strategy for Debbarma at almost each of his rallies, is a window into the 44-year-old’s hold over his constituency — the 19 tribal communities who collectively form over 30 per cent of Tripura’s population and have a say in 20 reserved seats, of the total 60, in the state Assembly.
As the state elections draw near, the Motha, which was formed merely two years ago, has emerged as a crucial factor alongside national parties such as the BJP, Congress and CPI(M). Read more
Tripura recorded a voter turnout of 32.12 per cent till 11 am.
Photo credits: PTI/Twitter(ECI)
For more photos, click here
In an interview with The Indian Express ahead of the polling in Tripura, TIPRA Motha's Pradyot Debbarma asserted that the CPI(M) and the BJP will not cross the halfway mark.
From his views on the Left-Congerss alliance to the tribals' demand for Greater Tipraland, here's what Debbarma said.
Speaking to reporters TIPRA Motha chief Pradyot Debbarma claimed that BJP has caused violence in some parts of Tripura with polling underway across 60 seats.
“We got information that Dhanpur and Mohanpur have witnessed violence by the ruling party," he was quoted as saying by ANI. He added, "We have complained about the violence and for the malfunctions in the EVMs. I want the entire voting process to be over by dark."
I think voter turnout will be over 90% and people of Tripura will give us a chance, Debbarma said.
From CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury, who might become a tribal Chief Minister of Tripura if the Left-Congress alliance manages to form the government, to Union minister Pratima Bhowmik, the BJP's contender for CM post, Debraj Deb explains who's who of the Tripura elections.
For over two decades, time stood still at Naisingpara, the largest relief camp in Tripura for families of the Bru community who had to flee Mizoram in 1997 due to ethnic violence.
Twenty-six years on, electricity connection, water supply, toilets – the bare necessities to lead a dignified life – continue to elude the nearly 40,000 Brus staying at the camp, which overlooks Jampui, the highest hill range in Tripura, bordering Mizoram.
“But there has been one change. We have voting rights in Tripura now,” says Lalfakawmi Bru, a single mother of five. Sourav Roy Barman reports from the ground
According to data shared by the Election Commission, as many as 13,99,289 women in Tripura are eligible for voting in the ongoing Assembly elections.
(PTI Photos)
Tripura recorded a voter turnout of 32.06 per cent till 11 am, according to data shared by news agency ANI.
Former chief minister and BJP leader, Biplab Kumar Deb, cast his vote at a polling booth in the Gomati district. Speaking to reporters outside, Deb said, "Tripura was in darkness for a long time. Today, the youth is hopeful, women have smiles on their faces. (Earlier), this was missing. People are taking a decision for their future today. Under PM Modi's leadership, BJP will form a government here once again with majority."
Voting is underway in Tripura amid tight security as reports of sporadic violence emerged few hours into the polling process.
Tripura CM Manik Saha reached a polling booth in Agartala to exercise his franchise. He expressed confidence of the BJP's win, while speaking to reporters outside.
Tripura is set to witness a three-way battle between the BJP-IPFT and CPI(M)-Congress alliances as well as TIPRA Motha.
Photo credits: PTI
Leader of Opposition Manik Sarkar alleged that Left Front polling agents were attacked and thrown out of polling booths at Dhanpur, his own home turf for four terms which he vacated for a 42-year old Kaushik Chanda. Sarkar said common people blockaded the road demanding free and fair polls and raised slogans that they would not allow others to cast vote if they were obstructed.
"The ECI has mandate to ensure everyone can vote freely and fairly", he said.
Sarkar also claimed that parts of Udaipur in Gomati district, Belonia in South Tripura and few other places also saw some violence today but added that he would comment further on these after cross checking the facts.
The issue was brought to the attention of CEO Kiran Dinkarrao Gitte and he has assured to take action but officials on the ground aren't responding positively and they say they are busy in strong rooms, he added.
Few hours into the polling process, reports of sporadic violence emerged in Tripura. Sources in from the Chief Electoral Officer’s office said a CPI(M) supporter was beaten outside Kalacherra polling station in Shantirbaazar constituency in the South Tripura district.
"The victim was rushed to hospital by our officials though he was not able to tell the names of attackers. Officer in-charge of the local police station has gone out for search based on photographs available. Suo Motu FIR has been lodged in Shantirbaazar PS. We will arrest the culprits soon," the source said.
Leader of Opposition and former chief minister Manik Sarkar cast his vote in the Tripura Assembly elections in Agartala.
For the first time in 25 years, Sarkar is not contesting the Assembly elections. In an interview to The Indian Express, ahead of the polls, Sarkar backed the Left-Congress alliance. Read here
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, while urging people to come out and vote, said that the people of Tripura were “united for change”. “Vote for peace and progress. Vote, without fear,” Kharge tweeted.
The official Twitter handle of the Chief Electoral Officer in Tripura shared images of transgender voters queued up at a polling booth in Aralia, West Tripura District, to exercise their franchise.
One of the contests on which a lot rests will be that for the Town Bardowali seat, located right outside capital city Agartala, featuring its sitting MLA and incumbent Chief Minister Manik Saha and the Congress’s Ashish Kumar Saha.
Manik Saha, whose selection as CM last year by the BJP in a surprise move, after getting Biplab Kumar Deb to step down, won the seat in a bypoll last year. It was his first-ever Assembly election win, making him a virtual greenhorn despite being the CM.
Ashish Saha, a previous MLA from the seat, on the other hand, is an old hand. He was a long-time Congress leader, and the party’s state working president, before switching sides to the Trinamool Congress. Within the space of a year though, in 2017 – as the last Assembly elections approached – he moved to the BJP with five MLAs. In the 2018 Assembly elections, Ashish Saha won from Town Bardowali on a BJP ticket. Read more
Ashish Kumar Saha, who is the Congress candidate facing CM Manik Saha at the Town Bardowali seat, said people have come out of their homes and are voting peacefully till now and claimed the voters mood reflects a voice for change.
He said parivartan (change) is likely, judging the large number of voters turning up at polling stations. He added that a large number of them were prevented from casting their votes in the last few elections including 2019 Parliament elections held with the BJP in power.
Till 9 am, the Tripura Assembly elections saw a voter turnout of 13.92 per cent.
From development and employment to a separate state demand and concerns over the large Bengali population, Debraj Deb explains the key issues surrounding the Assembly elections in Tripura.
According to a fact sheet shared by the Election Commission of India, over 28 lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes in the Assembly elections for 60 seats across Tripura. Of these, over 14.15 lakh are males and 13.99 are females.
As many as 3,337 polling stations have been set up across the state.
Sharing glimpses from polling booths across Tripura, the official handle of the Spokesperson of the Election Commission of India tweeted that "high voter enthusiasm" in the Tripura Assembly elections was an indicator of "peaceful atmosphere in the state".
"Adequate security forces made available to instil a sense of confidence among voters," it added.
While casting his vote at a polling booth in Agartala, Tripura CM Manik Saha expressed confidence over BJP's win in the Assembly elections.
"I offered prayers in the morning and prayed for peaceful voting everywhere. You can see people have come out to vote. I am confident that BJP will definitely form the Government here," he told reporters.
Saha is contesting from the Town Bardowali seat, located right outside capital city Agartala.
Hitting out at the Left-Congress alliance, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha said that the Left-Congress alliance was known for creating violence, but so far there is no untoward incident anywhere. He added that the administration and Election Commission has a challenge of ensuring a free and fair polls, while speaking to reporters outside a polling booth in Agartala.
Manik Saha is contesting from the Town Bardowali seat, located right outside capital city Agartala. Manik Saha, whose selection as CM last year by the BJP in a surprise move, after getting Biplab Kumar Deb to step down, won the seat in a bypoll last year. It was his first-ever Assembly election win, making him a virtual greenhorn despite being the CM. He's up against, Congress's Ashish Saha, a previous MLA from the seat and an old hand.
As voting began in Tripura, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to vote in record numbers, calling upon the youth to exercise their franchise.
Tripura is the first pit stop before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The BJP, which fought in alliance with IPFT in 2018, is again contesting with its tribal ally, though the IPFT has been given only 5 seats this time, compared to 9 in the last elections. While the BJP is fighting to defend its fort in Tripura – a state it had won for the first time five years back — once rivals CPI(M) and Congress are fighting to recover lost turf.
In 2018, the BJP secured 43.59 per cent vote share and won 36 seats as opposed to CPI(M), which won only 16 seats but received 42.22 per cent votes. On average, Tripura has 40-45,000 voters in each Assembly seat, and a narrow margin of 500-1,000 votes makes a lot of difference in most seats. Read more
Gomati was one of the districts visited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi while campaigning for the BJP ahead of the Tripura polls.
Initially, royal scion and TIPRA Motha chief Pradyot Debbarma maintained that “Greater Tipraland” would be a separate state carved out of Tripura to secure the rights, heritage, and culture facing threat from the hegemony of Bengalis. However, closer to the polls, he softened his position, saying he was essentially seeking a complete political separation of the areas under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTADC) which can be achieved even without any territorial slicing.
The TTADC was formed under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution in 1985 to ensure the development and secure the rights and cultural heritage of tribal communities. It has certain legislative and executive powers. The TIPRA Motha claims that the TTADC is toothless and needs to be replaced with a more effective arrangement under a new “constitutional solution”.
Read Sourav Roy Barman's explainer to know more about the Greater Tipraland demand.
As per schedule, polling started at 7 am in the morning and is set to continue till 4 pm.
However, if voters remain in the queue even after the deadline, they would be given tokens and allowed to cast their mandate.
Opposition Left Front and Congress parties have earlier expressed strong apprehensions over the law and order situation in the state, and demanded the Election Commission to ensure a free and fair poll at any cost.
A massive security bandobast of 400 companies of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel was pushed into poll related duty today apart from 11,000 state police and Tripura State Rifles (TSR) jawans.
A vulnerability survey has identified 1,128 polling stations as ‘sensitive’ including 1,100 ‘vulnerable’ and 28 ‘critical’ booths. The vulnerable areas are categorised based on previous history of violence while the critical ones are categorised by record of over 70 per cent votes polled for a single candidate in any seat, indicating that the voting pattern was slanted towards any particular side.
The Election Commission earlier announced ‘Mission Zero Violence and 929’ – expressing its commitment to curb violence and malpractices and to boost polling in 929 stations where turnout was low in the 2018 polls.
Once a tribal-majority kingdom, Tripura’s demographics saw a drastic shift between the pre-Partition years and 1971 — the year of the Bangladesh War of Liberation — due to a large influx of displaced Bengalis fleeing religious persecution.
The share of tribals in the total population has come down to 31.8 per cent as per the 2011 Census. It triggered a fierce ethnic conflict that has subsided now. But from time to time, indigenous outfits tap into the anxiety and resentment among the tribals against the hegemony of the Bengali community in the sphere of culture, politics, and administration.
TIPRA Motha is the newest player that has captured the imagination of a large section of the tribals, distributed among 19 notified communities. Read more
Voting in the Tripura Assembly elections kicked off at 7 am on Thursday, with over 28 lakh eligible voters expected to exercise their franchise.
While the BJP is contesting in 55 seats of the total 60, TIPRA Motha has candidates in 42 seats. The CPI(M) is fighting in 47 seats while Congress has fielded candidates in 13.
Follow this space for latest updates!
Tripura is all set for a three-cornered fight on Thursday with the CPI(M)-Congress alliance and the TIPRA Motha challenging the BJP’s bid to retain power in the northeastern state. Over 28 lakh eligible voters are expected to exercise their franchise to elect their representatives among 259 candidates in fray for the electoral race.
Stay tuned as we bring you the latest updates