Ruling Left to take on BJP, Congress rivals in Tripura civic polls tomorrow

Civic polls will take in 19 out of 20 municipal corporations in Tripura tomorrow.

Over 5.24 lakh voters will decide the fate of 886 candidates vying for seats in the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) and nineteen other municipal councils and nagar panchayats.

As many as 290 wards will be holding the elections. Four hundred and twenty nine of the 886 candidates are women, which is a record in the state's electoral history.

"We are moving to the vote centre with EVMs and other material. Everything has been smooth and security personnel are also there. There is no problem," said Rajib Chatterjee, a polling official.

Twenty returning officers and 25 observers have been appointed to oversee the entire polling process. In all, there are 18 halls that have been established for the counting of votes.

In the by-elections for 17 panchayat seats, 20,027 voters will decide the fate of 48 candidates. The ruling Left Front has already won 10 seats uncontested after the opposition parties failed to put up their candidates.

Of the total polling stations, 378 polling booths have been identified as A, while 279 polling booths have been rated as B.

Five armed cops will be engaged to guard the A category booth, while three armed policemen will be deployed to keep surveillance on each B category booth.

The ruling Left Front and the opposition Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are the main contenders.