The Tripura State Election Commission (SEC) on Friday evening announced that elections to 21 urban local bodies (ULBs), including the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC), will be held on November 27, setting the stage for a significant electoral contest across the state’s urban areas.
Tripura State Election Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Chakraborty said that the concerned Returning Officers would issue the statutory notification on Friday (October 30).
The last date for filing nomination papers has been fixed as November 6, while scrutiny of nominations will take place the next day (November 7). Candidates will be able to withdraw their nominations until November 10. The counting of votes will be held on December 2, the State Election Commissioner announced.
Addressing a press conference at Civil Secretariat in Agartala, Chakraborty, accompanied by State Director General of Police (DGP) G S Rao and Commission Secretary Anurag Sen, said that a total of 6,29,903 voters, including 3,21,743 women, 3,08,115 men and 45 third-gender voters, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the upcoming elections.
Chakraborty said that the terms of the 21 urban local bodies, including the Agartala Municipal Corporation, would expire on December 9. The elections will be held for a total of 345 seats across the 21 urban local bodies. The Agartala Municipal Corporation alone has 51 seats. Of the total 345 seats, 162 have been reserved for women, 80 for candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and nine for those belonging to the Scheduled Tribes (STs).
The State Election Commissioner further said that 23 Returning Officers and 81 Assistant Returning Officers had been appointed to conduct the elections. The SEC also said that the Urban Development Department had published the final list of polling stations ahead of the upcoming elections to the municipal councils and Nagar Panchayat areas.
The final list comprises 783 polling stations covering the Agartala Municipal Corporation, 13 Municipal Councils and seven Nagar Panchayats across the state. The final electoral rolls for the elections were published on October 15, the SEC said.
Meanwhile, DGP G S Rao indicated that Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel would not be deployed for the urban local body elections. Instead, adequate personnel from the state police and Tripura State Rifles (TSR) would be deployed to ensure that the elections are conducted in a free, fair and peaceful manner.
According to official estimates, around nine lakh people reside in the 21 urban local bodies spread across all eight districts of Tripura. Of the total urban population covered by these local bodies, more than four lakh people reside within the jurisdiction of the Agartala Municipal Corporation.
Meanwhile, political activities have gathered momentum ahead of the civic polls, with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the main opposition CPI(M)-led Left parties and the Congress already initiating pre-election preparations, including the process of selecting candidates.
The November 27 elections are expected to witness a keen contest among the major political parties as they seek to strengthen their presence in the state's urban areas.