Agartala, September 29: The Village Committee elections under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) recorded an overall voter turnout of 81.21 per cent, while the State Election Commission on Tuesday ordered repolling in three seats on October 3, State Election Commissioner P K Chakravarti said.
Announcing the repoll decision at a press conference at the Secretariat, Chakravarti said polling would be held in two Village Committees involving three seats.
Repolling has been ordered for seats 3 and 4 of constituency No. 2 of Gamaria Village Committee under Matabari RD Block and seat No. 4 of constituency No. 4 of Paharpur Village Committee under Amarpur RD Block.
Chakravarti said the decision in Gamaria was taken following reports of booth capturing and tampering with ballot boxes and ballot papers. In Paharpur, the repoll was necessitated by discrepancies related to symbol allotment and printing.
The elections covered 587 Village Committees, with 9,61,977 voters eligible to exercise their franchise. Following the nomination and withdrawal process, 1,644 candidates were declared elected unopposed.
Polling was conducted in 432 Village Committees across 44 RD blocks, covering 1,768 constituencies and 2,956 seats. A total of 8,176 candidates representing various political parties contested the polls.
According to the commission, 6,58,247 voters were assigned to 1,095 polling stations. The election authorities also facilitated voting by election-duty personnel, security personnel and others engaged in the poll process, with 6,628 election-duty votes recorded.
Chakravarti said the initial turnout reported by returning officers after 4 pm on September 28 was around 79 per cent. Nearly 10,850 voters were waiting in queues at polling stations in 28 blocks and were issued slips by presiding officers.
Based on entries in presiding officers' diaries, the turnout was subsequently revised to 81.01 per cent. With the addition of election-duty votes, the final turnout stood at 81.21 per cent, he said.
On the law-and-order situation, Chakravarti said polling was largely peaceful, though some incidents were reported.
The commission received eight complaints from political parties, mainly alleging obstruction of polling agents and denial of participation in the polling process. Reports were sought from observers and returning officers, with some complaints disposed of after they were found to lack sufficient basis. Other inquiries are pending.
The commission also received a representation from Tipra Motha regarding firing at Warengbari SB School, where a party candidate and two others were injured. The matter was referred to police and the Home Department.
Repolling on October 3 will begin at 7 am, while counting is scheduled for October 5 from 8 am at designated centres in the 44 blocks.
