The Opposition Left Front has taken a stance of boycotting the vote counting process for the recently held by-polls in Tripura's Boxanagar and Dhanpur assembly seats, citing allegations of election rigging. The vote counting is scheduled for Friday.
The Opposition Left Front has accused the recent by-polls in Tripura’s Boxanagar and Dhanpur assembly seats of being rigged and has declared its intention to boycott the counting of votes scheduled for Friday.
Boycott of Vote Count:
In response to their claims of election rigging, the Left Front has decided to boycott the counting of votes. This means they will not participate in the process of tallying the votes to determine the winners of the by-polls.
Demand for Fresh By-Polls:
The Left Front has demanded that fresh by-polls be conducted in the two constituencies of Boxanagar and Dhanpur, where the by-polls took place. They argue that the election results should be nullified due to alleged irregularities.
Voter Turnout:
The voter turnout in the by-polls was relatively high, with 89.2% in Boxanagar and 83.92% in Dhanpur.
Contesting Parties:
The main contenders in the by-polls were the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M). Other parties, such as TIPRA Motha and Congress, did not field candidates.
Accusations of Rigging:
CPI(M) leader Jitendra Chaudhury has accused the BJP of rigging the elections in both constituencies. He claims that a section of the police and civil administration was involved in creating what he calls an “extraordinary terror situation” to influence the outcome.
Specific Accusations:
Chaudhury named Minister Bikash Debbarma and BJP lawmaker Rampada Jamatia, alleging that they mobilized “outsiders” to intimidate voters into either not participating or voting for the ruling BJP.
Request for Minister’s Arrest:
Jitendra Chaudhury demanded the arrest of Minister Bikash Debbarma in connection with the alleged election rigging.
The Left Front is protesting what they believe to be an unfair and rigged election, and they are advocating for fresh by-polls to address their concerns. These allegations have sparked a political controversy in Tripura.
