About 13,000 security personnel are getting deployed for election to Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) on Sunday. About 7.5 lakh voters are eligible to elect 28 members in important tribal council which was created under sixth schedule of the constitution in 1983.
TTAADC has limited authority over State’s three fourth land area with a population of 13 lakh, a vast majority of them tribal. CPI(M) led Left front is governing the body for three consecutive terms and last time it won all 28 seats.
Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT), a regional party pushing some demands like making TTADC a separate tribal state, has appeared to be main challenger to the CPI(M). Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra (INPT) has traditional stake in tribal votes, but it unlikely to make much impact this election.
Congress, BJP, Trinamool Congress and some smaller parties are also in the fray. These parties were lacking in campaign trail and are expected to trail behind left front, IPFT and INPT.
Inspector General of Police Anurag Dhankar said border with Bangladesh has been sealed and BSF patrol intensified to prevent cross border infiltration. He stated 13,000 security personnel are being deployed for peaceful conduct of voting in 1070 polling stations.
IPFT President Narendra Chandra Debbarma however claimed that no deployment of central security force was visible till Saturday afternoon. “The state election commission is biased towards ruling CPI(M) and it is not responding to our complaints”, he alleged in a press conference.
Mr. Debbarma said CPI(M) leaders, including Chief Minister Manik Sarkar have launched vicious and false campaign against IPFT branding it as an extremist collaborator. He claimed many of their party workers were injured in attacks at different places. CPI(M) has rubbished the allegations and made counter charge against the IPFT for ‘inciting violence’. The party said tribal voters would reject divisive politics of the IPFT.
