82% voting in civic by-polls in Tripura, Opp parties cry foul

AGARTALA: Over 82 per cent of around 85,000 voters on Thursday cast their votes for the by-polls to the 8 municipal councils and Agartala Municipal Corporations (AMC) in Tripura, officials said.
Though the officials of the State Election Commission claimed the polling was peaceful and incident-free, opposition Congress and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) alleged that the elections were “completely rigged by ruling BJP leaders, workers and their goons as they captured most polling booths”.
The CPI-M in protest against the “farcical elections” withdrew its candidates from 35 seats in six civic bodies while the Congress demanded a re-poll to 50 per cent of the total of 67 seats for which by-elections were held on Thursday.
CPI-M state secretary Gautam Das told the media that their candidates could not submit nominations for most seats.
“Even though where some candidates submitted their candidature, BJP and their hoodlums attacked them, their houses and properties while the police and the State Election Commission remained as onlookers,” he told the media on Thursday.
“In almost all places, most of the polling agents including women, were forced out from polling booths to turn the balloting a total farce. BJP goons, including its MLA Dilip Das, attacked the Left party workers and agents,” Das said.
Congress leader Harekrishna Bhowmik said that the party has demanded a re-poll in almost half of the total of 67 seats as BJP has totally controlled the elections with the help of the administrations. (PTI)