Key Takeaways
- The Tripura LF announced to boycott counting, alleging the election was rigged.
- The boycott targets the Dhanpur and Boxanagar by‑elections in Sepahijala district.
- The LF demands the arrest of Tribal Welfare Minister Bikash Debbarma and removal of election officials.
Agartala:Tripura Left Front (LF) Committee on Thursday announced to boycott the counting for the by-elections of Dhanpur and Boxanagar in Sepahijala district, which is scheduled for Friday.
Raising allegations of large-scale poll rigging during the election on September 5 in both seats, they demanded a countermanding of the poll. The Left Front’s main constituent, CPM secretary Jitendra Chaudhury, had alleged that the election was rigged by the ruling BJP miscreants using a section of the police and civil administration in an extra-ordinary terror situation.
However, the election commission did not accept the allegations, and based on the observers’ report, ECI stated that the by-election was fair and peaceful, which enraged the opposition parties. Although the main opposition parties, TIPRA Motha and Congress, didn’t contest the election, they stood by the CPM’s allegation of poll rigging.
In a statement, Left Front Convener Narayan Kar said the bye-elections to Boxanagar and Dhanpur were completely rigged and a farce. And in this respect, it drew the attention of Election Commission of India (ECI) time and again, right from the beginning of the polling, but no positive steps were taken to prevent the rigging.
“Since ECI didn’t accept the complaints of poll rigging supplemented by video footage, we have decided to boycott the counting of rigged voting. Under these circumstances, it is amply clear what the motive of ECI is, and it is established that it is a puppet in the hands of the BJP,” Kar alleged.
He reiterated the demand for arresting the state’s Tribal Welfare Minister, Bikash Debbarma, the removal of returning officers and the superintendent of police in Sepahijala district, and countermanding by-elections.
“Instead of flushing out the outsiders from the constituencies, BJP miscreants were allowed in large numbers to get into the poll-bound areas on September 3 night. Only 16 CPM polling agents in Boxanagar and 19 in Dhanpur could manage to attend the respective polling booths. But most of them were forcibly driven out of the polling booths by the miscreants mobilised by the BJP with the help of election machinery,” Kar stated.
