Agartala, June 03: Tripura among other parts of the country is ready for the counting of Lok Sabha polls scheduled on Tuesday.
The exit polls by various organizations showed a sweeping victory for the BJP in both Lok Sabha seats of Tripura. However, the INDI Alliance remains optimistic about their prospects.
In the West Tripura parliamentary constituency, BJP's Biplab Kumar Deb faced off against INDI Alliance's Ashis Kumar Saha. The polling, held on April 19, saw an impressive voter turnout of 81.47 percent. Meanwhile, in the East Tripura constituency, Maharani Kriti Singh Debbarma of the BJP contended with INDI Alliance candidate Rajendra Reang, with 80.36 percent voter turnout recorded on April 26.
Tuesday will also see the results of the Ramnagar assembly by-polls. Preliminary indications suggest a decisive victory for BJP candidate Dipak Majumder, who is the Mayor of Agartala Municipal Corporation. He is expected to defeat CPM's former legislator Ratan Das by a significant margin. This by-poll was necessitated by the death of sitting BJP MLA Surajit Dutta.
The upcoming results will determine the successors to Union Minister of State Pratima Bhowmik in West Tripura and Rebati Tripura in East Tripura.
Across the state, BJP workers are preparing for celebrations, anticipating the party's victory and the return of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister for a third term. On Monday, the BJP state election management committee, including Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha, held a meeting to finalize plans for the counting process.
State election machinery is also fully prepared for a smooth counting process. Chief Electoral Officer of Tripura Puneet Agarwal announced that the vote count will start at 8 am on June 4 across 20 locations in the state. Votes for West Tripura will be tallied at 7 sites, while East Tripura votes will be counted at 15 locations, utilizing a total of 60 counting halls.
Media centres will be set up at all counting centres, allowing journalists limited access with mobile phones. Security is tight with three-tier arrangements and comprehensive CCTV coverage. Only official cameras will be permitted inside counting halls.
The Election Commission of India has appointed 31 counting observers in Tripura. Results will be updated on the official ECI website and the voter helpline app. To ensure a peaceful process, section 144 Cr.P.C. prohibitory orders will be enforced within 100 meters of counting centres. Assistant Returning Officers of all sixty assembly constituencies will supervise the vote count.
CEO Agarwal also conducted inspections of various counting centres and held an all-party meeting to ensure a smooth counting process, urging public cooperation for peaceful conduct.