Tripura polls: No cases of violence & rules violation will be tolerated, says EC

In his two-day visit, chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar along with other officials reviewed preparations of poll after meeting administrative functionaries and political parties

The election commission of India (ECI) on Thursday said reiterated the fact that no case of violence and violation of poll guidelines will be tolerated.

EC also stressed on confidence building and free participation of voters. (File image | Representative)

EC also stressed on confidence building and free participation of voters.

In his two-day visit, chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar along with other officials reviewed preparations of poll after meeting administrative functionaries and political parties.

“In many states like, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat that went to polls recently, no violence took place. Burning party offices, preventing free and fair polling will not be tolerated. Regarding this issue, strict instructions have been given to everybody not to allow such things. We want to conduct a free and fair polls in the state. Rich history and culture of the state should be reflected through a peaceful voting,” Rajiv Kumar said.

“If any guideline is violated, all officials will have to reply,” he said.

He further said they will provide a level playing field to ensure no partisan behaviour is shown to any political party or candidate.

Permission for conducting rally and other activities will be given to political parties from concerned district poll authorities on the basis of first come-first service, he added.

So far, 100 companies of central armed police force (CAPF) arrived in the stare for election duty and would be deployed in all the polling stations, naka points, check-posts and sensitive areas.

“The poll violence affects image of our state besides hurting people. Even after the polls, tourists might not visit the state due to incidents of poll violence. We are taking required initiatives to ensure violence should not happen,” said chief electoral officer Kiran Dinkarrao Gitte earlier.

Steps are also taken to appoint one micro-observer for each polling booth, providing triple-layered security with Tripura police, Tripura State Rifles (TSR) and CAPF along with adequate flying squads and quick response teams around EVM warehouses. The security forces have already been asked to show zero tolerance on drug trafficking in the borders. The banks have been asked to check if any bulk transactions are happening online and the air traffic was alerted to keep a strict vigil whether anything illegal is brought here through aircrafts to lure the voters, said the CEC.

The state election commission published final electoral rolls on January 5 with 28,13,478 voters.