Tripura polls: 74 % voter turnout recorded till 4 pm

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday informed that a total of 74 percent voter turnout was recorded till 4 pm in Tripura.

Deputy Election Commissioner, Sudeep Jain in a media briefing said that the voting percentage is likely to go up by the end of the day as the people are still in queues to cast their votes.

He said that the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) was used for the first time in all the polling booths in Tripura and with the help of the state administration the EC managed to carry out smooth polling in the state.

"It was a big task to train the people to use the VVPAT, but it went on smoothly. A lot of initiatives was taken to make the voters aware of the VVPAT. In spite of all the difficulties we managed to conduct the polls with an ease," Jain said.

To maintain the transparency in the election, around 72 percent polling station were on webcast, he said.

Jain further said that a total of Rs 1.76 crores of liquor, drug, and narcotics were recovered during the election.

"There were several complaints of malfunctioning of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), many complaints were found to be false. Only 12 ballot units were replaced and 97 VVPAT was replaced during the elections," the Deputy Election Commissioner said.

"No incidents of violence were reported from anywhere in the state. Two crude bombs were recovered which were disposed off," he added.

Out of 60 constituencies, 59 went for polls today. Elections in Charilam constituency were rescheduled for March 12, after the demise of one candidate.