Agartala, Feb 19: Chief Electoral Officer of Tripura Kiran Gitte on Sunday requested all the political parties to appeal to their supporters to be tolerant and to show patience and not to take law in their hands.

The Chief Electoral Officer held an all-party meeting at the conference hall of the West Tripura District Magistrate’s office on Sunday and discussed post-poll law and order situation and other issues.

In the meeting, the CEO mentioned that as promised, the Election Commission of India delivered a free, fair, transparent and peaceful Assembly Election in the state. He thanked all the political parties for their cooperation in conducting this Assembly Election in a free, fair and transparent manner.

If any violent incident happens, then they should approach the Sub-Divisional Magistrates and the concerned police authority. Personal animosity and family feud shall not be projected as a political incident as it sends the wrong message to the society and it may deteriorate the law and order situation, he said.

The Election Commission of India is monitoring the law and order in Tripura on a daily basis. The CEO warned that no post-poll violence would be tolerated. Adequate CAPF is available to ensure peace and tranquility. Police authorities and CAPF shall take strict action against those involved in disturbing the law and order.

In the meeting, he also informed the participants that the candidates may engage their agent/ representative, if not engaged earlier, for guarding the strong rooms where the polled EVMs are stored.
The Chief Electoral Officer appealed to all political parties to cooperate in maintaining law and order before and after counting of votes.

Any untoward incident like political violence, if happens, shall be dealt with firmly, he added.

Earlier the CEO said, “All EVMs have been taken to the strong rooms. In view of the gap of 14 days between the polling and counting, some additional security measures have been taken. Apart from three-tier security arrangements, CCTVs have been installed in all strong rooms. TCS officers have been engaged in the strong rooms on three-shift duty basis. The representatives of contesting candidates may watch the CCTV footage in a room.”
 
Scrutiny of the polling diary by Observers was held on Friday; there were demands for re-poll from two constituencies- Matabari and Golaghati. After thorough scrutiny, the observers didn’t recommend re-poll in any place, he told reporters.