Election to Tripura East seat deferred to April 23

AGARTALA/GUWAHATI: The Election Commission (EC) has deferred the election to the

Tripura

East (ST) parliamentary constituency to April 23 from April 18 after receiving reports from Tripura chief electoral officer (CEO) and special police observer (SPO) that the prevailing law and order situation in the state was not suitable for holding the election on the earlier date.

In a notification, the EC said the returning officer (RO) for the Tripura East (ST) constituency has expressed apprehension that miscreants may thwart the polling process. It added that the RO has requested additional central armed police forces based on ground intelligence.

The EC said it took into account reports from the state CEO, SPO, RO and also inputs from other sources before taking the decision. It added that the law and order situation in the constituency is likely to improve and become conducive for holding free and fair election with additional measures taken during this period.

“We hope we will be able to improve the law and order scenario by taking enough security measures and building confidence among the voters in the next four to five days,” said Tripura CEO Sriram Taranikanti.

In the first phase of polls in West Tripura parliamentary constituency on April 11, there were reports of largescale violence. The opposition is demanding foolproof security, including escorts, for polling agents.

Sources in the election department said DGP AK Shukla has been asked to handle poll-related security issues in the state. Earlier, ADG (Law and Order) Rajeev Singh was looking after the security aspect as the nodal officer.