Campaign for East Tripura LS constituency ends

Campaigning for the East Tripura Lok Sabha constituency, where Lok Sabha polls were rescheduled from April 18 to April 23, ended at 5 pm on Sunday, a top election official said.

The Election Commission had postponed voting in the constituency to the third phase on April 23, saying the prevailing law-and-order situation there was not conducive for holding free and fair polls.

East Tripura constituency is spread across 30 assembly segments and six districts, where an electorate of 12,54,944 will decide the fate of 10 candidates, including those of the ruling BJP, the Congress and the CPI(M).

Ruling BJP candidate Rebati Mohan Tripura, sitting MP Jitendra Chowdhury of the CPI(M) and Pragya Dev Burman of the Congress are among those contesting from the seat.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sriram Taranikanti said a total of 1,645 polling stations have been set up, of which 30 are all-women booths.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechuri have campaigned in the last few days in the constituency.

Dhalai district SP Sudipta Das said sufficient security deployment has been made to ensure free and fair polling on April 23.

"Central and state forces are on duty round-the-clock, and CCTV cameras will be installed in polling stations. There will be sector officers from both civil and police administration, apart from flying squads," Das said.

The BSF has also intensified vigilance along the Indo-Bangladesh border, which would be completely sealed ahead of polling, he added.