Tripura West LS recorded 79.7% voting; INDIA bloc alleges poll agent eviction

Raising allegations of poll violence, INDIA bloc leaders met returning officer Vishal Kumar and submitted a memorandum

Agartala: Nearly 80% polling was recorded for the West Tripura constituency in the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls amid bitter allegations and counter-allegations of electoral manipulation exchanged between political parties on Friday.

PM Narendra Modi with Tripura chief minister Manik Saha (to his right) and BJP candidate Biplab Kumar Deb (far left) during a public meeting ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in Agartala on Wednesday, April 17. (PTI)

The office of the state’s chief electoral officer said 79.7 % polling was recorded until the end of voting on Friday evening; polling had started at 7 am in 1686 polling centres in the constituency.

Tripura chief minister Manik Saha cast his vote at the Maharani Tulsibati Higher Secondary School in Agartala while BJP candidate for the constituency and former chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb cast his vote in Udaipur in Gomati District.

Raising allegations of poll violence, INDIA Bloc leaders met returning officer Vishal Kumar and submitted a memorandum seeking his and chief electoral officer Puneet Agarwal’s intervention.

Later, speaking to the media, Congress state unit chief and INDIA bloc candidate, Ashish Kumar Saha, Tripura Left Front convener Narayan Kar, former minister Manik Dey levelled allegations of “manipulation” against the ruling BJP, saying that polling agents of the opposition bloc were either driven out from voting booths or prevented from entering them.

Saha alleged: “ Maximum polling agents of opposition candidate were driven out from many booths at Bishalgarh, Sonamura ( Sepahijala district) , Udaipur ( Gomati district), Santirbazar and Belonia ( South district). Many booths were captured and totally rigged”.

A BJP delegation also met Agarwal, accusing the oppositions of spreading lies about the polling process on Friday.

“ If they have specific complaints, they can register (the complaints). Instead, they are trying to spread lies”, said BJP state spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharjee, adding that the opposition did not have enough polling agents and was trying to hide that fact.

Nine candidates are contesting but the primary fight is between Deb and Saha.

Separately, 67.81 % voting was recorded for the bypoll in Ramnagar assembly constituency, which was carried out simultaneously.