The long-awaited general elections to the Village Committees (VCs) under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) will be held on September 28, the State Election Commission (SEC) announced on Monday.
Addressing a press conference, State Election Commissioner P.K. Chakraborty said polling will be held on September 28, while counting of votes will take place on October 5 from 7:00 AM. The entire election process is scheduled to be completed by October 8.
Chakraborty said the election notification will be issued on September 1, with September 8 set as the last date for filing nominations. The scrutiny of nominations will be held on September 9, while candidates can withdraw their nominations until September 11.
According to the SEC, the elections will be held across 587 Village Committees, covering 2,634 constituencies and 4,597 seats. As per the final electoral rolls, 9,61,977 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise, including 4,82,041 male voters, 4,79,930 female voters and six third-gender voters. A total of 1,550 polling stations have been identified.
The State Election Commissioner said ballot boxes will be used for voting and necessary arrangements will be made to ensure secrecy of the ballot. Counting centres will be established at Block Headquarters or other designated locations.
Giving details of the administrative arrangements, Chakraborty said District Magistrates and Collectors of all eight districts have been appointed as District Election Officers, while BDOs of 52 Rural Development Blocks have been designated as Electoral Registration Officers. The SEC has also appointed 231 Assistant Returning Officers and 373 Sector Officers, with around 8,500 polling personnel expected to be deployed.
The Commissioner said the elections had been delayed for several years after the term of the previous elected Village Committees expired on March 8, 2021. Although the SEC began preparations in 2022, the process could not move forward due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent legal complications.
Chakraborty also said security arrangements had been reviewed in consultation with the police administration. Adequate security personnel will be deployed across the poll-bound areas to ensure peaceful polling.
With the announcement of the election schedule, the Model Code of Conduct has come into force with immediate effect in the Village Committee areas under the TTAADC.
The State Election Commission expressed confidence that the administrative and security arrangements would ensure free, fair and peaceful elections after a gap of several years.
