BY TC News Desk
Agartala, September 4 – Amidst robust security measures, the by-elections currently underway in Tripura’s Boxanagar and Dhanpur Assembly Constituencies have seen an 18.92% voter turnout as of 9:00 AM.
Voting in these two assembly constituencies, located in the Sepahijala district of Tripura, began at 7:00 AM and is scheduled to continue until 4:00 PM.
Dr. Vishal Kumar, the Returning Officer for Sepahijala District, reported, “The election commenced at 7:00 AM this morning. As of now, there have been no reports of violence. We encountered EVM malfunctions in three locations, one in Dhanpur and two in Boxanagar, but these issues were promptly resolved. The polling process is proceeding peacefully, with an 18.92% voter turnout recorded until 9:00 AM.”
Subsequently, the Chief Electoral Officer’s office disclosed that Boxanagar recorded an 18.97% voter turnout, while Dhanpur had an 18.71% turnout as of 9:00 AM.
Polling began at 7:00 AM across 59 booths within the Dhanpur Assembly constituency and 51 booths in Boxanagar, with voting scheduled to conclude at 4:00 PM.
These by-elections were necessitated by the passing of CPI(M) MLA Samsul Haque, who represented the Boxanagar constituency, and the resignation of Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Pratima Bhoumik. She contested and won on a BJP ticket from Dhanpur.
In this electoral contest, the key contenders are the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Opposition CPI(M). It’s noteworthy that both the Congress and TIPRA Motha, the primary Opposition party in the Tripura Assembly, have chosen not to participate in these by-elections.
In Dhanpur, the electoral battle appears to be a direct face-off between the BJP’s candidate, Bindu Debnath, and the CPI(M)’s Kaushik Chanda.
Meanwhile, in the minority-dominated Boxanagar constituency, still considered a Left party stronghold, the BJP’s Tafajjal Hussain is pitted against the CPI(M)’s Mizan Hussain.A total of 95,075 eligible voters, comprising 48,110 males, 45,124 females, 160 service voters, 1,217 individuals aged 80 and above, and 463 Persons with Disabilities (PwD) voters, will exercise their franchise.
