The ongoing Village Committee elections under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) have witnessed allegations of obstruction from the CPI(M), with senior party leader and former TTAADC Chief Executive Member Radha Charan Debbarma claiming that his party faced difficulties in fielding candidates and appointing polling agents.
Polling for the Village Committee elections began at 7 AM on Monday amid tight security arrangements across Tripura. Voting is being held for 2,950 of the total 4,597 seats across 587 Village Committees.
Speaking on the polling process, Debbarma alleged that CPI(M) candidates faced hurdles in 12 of the 13 blocks in West Tripura, including areas under Sepahijala district. He said Mandai was the only block where the party did not face similar difficulties.
“Despite the obstacles, we have managed to field candidates in more than 50 per cent of the seats,” Debbarma said, adding that the party expects to improve its performance compared with the previous ADC elections.
The senior CPI(M) leader also alleged that party polling agents were forcibly removed from some polling locations in Kamalpur, including areas under the Srirampur Village Committee. Similar allegations were made regarding polling stations in Kairi village under Mandai block, where, he claimed, party representatives were not permitted to remain as polling agents.
Debbarma, however, said that the allegations had not affected the overall participation of voters. According to him, people were turning up at polling stations and exercising their franchise normally.
“The positive aspect is that voters are coming out and exercising their franchise normally. We are hopeful of achieving a good result,” he said.
The allegations were made as polling continued across the TTAADC areas under heightened security. The claims regarding the removal of polling agents could not be independently verified.
