AGARTALA, April 23 - An average 80.04 per cent voting was recorded in East Tripura Parliamentary constituency. It is likely to go up as the final reports are awaited, official sources stated.
The polling, which began this morning amid tight security and under the direct surveillance of the Election Commission of India, was largely peaceful with no major untoward incident reported from anywhere.
Initially, polling was sluggish in most of the polling booths, but it gained momentum as the day wore off. Official sources said that in around 100 polling stations, voting was temporarily halted due to malfunctioning of electronic voting machines (EVMs) or voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines.
Polling percentage of the East Tripura Lok Sabha constituency stood at 80.04 till 5 pm, but it could go up as polling was going on in some polling stations, said Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sriram Tarinikanta while briefing media persons.
�We received some complaints from political parties during polling and accordingly, prompt action was taken by AROs and security officials to bring the situation under control,� he added.
Tarinikanta said there would scrutiny of all complaints lodged by political parties on Wednesday. �We want to make sure that the election is free, fair and peaceful,� he said.
�In some areas like Amarpur, Julaibari, Sabroom and Kamalpur, security forces had to persuade the voters to exercise their franchise. They were later able to cast their votes without any trouble,� said Punit Rastogi, IG (Law and Order).
The ruling BJP was not happy with the manner election to the East Tripura constituency was conducted. �In some areas, Central forces took the voters to polling booths, which is not acceptable. Besides, two BJP polling agents were nabbed by the police at Amarpur without any valid reasons. We have lodged complaints to the Election Commission,� said BJP spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharjee.
On the other hand, the Congress has congratulated the Election Commission, voters and security personnel on the �free, fair and peaceful voting� on Tuesday. �We thank the voters, Election Commission officials and security forces for ensuring free and fair election,� Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee president Pradyot Kishore Debbarman said. The Opposition CPI(M) has also expressed happiness over the peaceful conduct of the election �despite threats and intimidation�.
