Vote counting underway for Tripura bypolls, BJP candidates leading

JAKARTA: As counting of postal ballots for the bypolls in Tripura's Dhanpur and Boxanagar Assembly constituencies is currently underway, the BJP candidates in both the seats have taken an early lead, election officials said on Friday.

BJP candidates Taffajal Hossain in Boxanagar and Bindu Debnath in Dhanpur are leading by around 1,000 votes over their CPI-M rivals Mizan Hossain and Kaushik Chanda, respectively.

“After the completion of counting of postal ballots, counting of votes stored in the EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines) would be taken up,” the poll officials said.

The counting for the bypolls held on Tuesday began early Friday morning amid tight security.

Voter turnout stood at 86.56 per cent, with 93,495 eligible voters casting their ballots.

Counting is ongoing in two centres at the Sonamura Girls’ Higher Secondary school in Sepahijala district under a massive security cover.

Alleging large-scale intimidation, rigging and irregularities by members and workers of the state's ruling BJP on the polling day and the Election Commission’s inactiveness to deal with the “terror and misdeeds”, the CPI (M)-led Left Front have boycotted the ballot counting.

The by-election to the Dhanpur seat was necessitated after Union Minister Pratima Bhoumik resigned from the Assembly, days after she was elected from the seat as a BJP nominee.

The Muslim-dominated Boxanagar Assembly seat fell vacant after the death of sitting CPI-M MLA Samsul Haque, who died on July 19 following a cardiac attack.