Expressing confidence on the victory of the Left alliance in the ongoing civic polls, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said this will not only send a message against the Modi led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the Centre but also have impact nationally.
“Exactly in Tripura if it is a positive result for the Left and democratic forces it is bound to have some impact on. Not only Modi alone, the government run by BJP in the centre,” said Sarkar, also a CPIM politburo leader.
When asked if the BJP is a threat to the Left Front in Tripura, the four times CM Sarkar expressed that the BJP’s sectarian politics will not be tolerated by the democracy loving people of the state.
Sarkar said, “In Tripura, there is very vibrant democracy, this sort of thing will not be tolerated by the people of Tripura.”
Amid tight security at 7 p.m., voting for the civic bodies start in India’s north eastern Tripura state on Wednesday.
Voters were seen waiting outside polling centres to cast their vote right from morning.
Over 5.24 lakh electors would decide the fate of a record breaking candidates-886 of all major political parties in the upcoming elections to Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) and nineteen Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats.
In the civic bodes’ elections, there would be as many as 290 Wards while total number of contesting candidates stands at 886. Of the total candidates for civic bodies, the number of female stands at 429, which is a record the state’s electoral history.
EVM’s is being used and to conduct the elections, twenty Returning Officers and 25 Observers have been appointed while altogether 18 counting halls have been established.
Altogether 20,027 voters would decide the fate of 48 candidates in the by- elections to 17 seats in the Panchayat. The ruling Left Front has already won 10 seats uncontested after the opposition parties failed to put up candidates.
Of the total polling stations, 378 polling booths have been identified as A while 279 polling booths have been rated as B.
Five armed cops will be engaged to guard A category booth while three armed policemen will be deployed to keep surveillance to each B category booth.
The main fight in the poll will be between the ruling Left Front and the opposition Congress and BJP.