Tripura: 74% cast vote, 17% less than last time
The total voter turnout stood at 74 per cent in the singlephase Tripura Assembly polls on Sunday, 17 per cent less than the last Assembly election when the polling percentage was recorded at 91.82.
Voting was on Sunday held in 59 of the total 60 seats as polling could not be held in the Charilam constituency due to the death of CPI(M) candidate Ramendra Narayan Deb Barma last week. The constituency will go to polls on March 12.
According to the figures released by the Election Commission on Sunday, the voter turnout stood at 74 per cent.
The BJP is making a determined bid to demolish the red bastion of 25 years, with stalwarts like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah leading the charge.
The saffron party, which had forged a pre-poll alliance with tribal outfit Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), had fielded 51 candidates. The IPFT, an anti-Left party, contested from the remaining nine seats. The Congress went it all alone in Tripura this time and contested from 59 seats. The party had not fielded a candidate from the Kakrabon constituency in Gomati district.
There are 25,73,413 registered voters -- 13,05,375 male and 12,68,027 female -- in the state.
The number of voters under the third gender category in the state is 11 and that of the new voters 47,803.
The official said snags in EVMs attached with VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) were reported from around 180 polling stations, resulting in slow balloting.
Voters, candidates and leaders of all political parties expressed anger over the malfunctioning EVMsVVPATs.
"The Election Commission put up specially modified EVMs attached with VVPATs at all 3,174 polling stations. We replaced or rectified faulty EVM-VVPATs and voting resumed in those polling stations afterwards," Additional Chief Electoral Officer Tapas Roy said.