Decks cleared for Feb 14 Tripura poll
Source: The Sangai Express / PTI

Agartala, February 12 2013: The campaign for the February 14 election to the 60-member Assembly in Tripura ended today on a peaceful note.

An electorate of 23,52,505 including 11,64,656 women would exercise their franchise in the election contested by 249 candidates belonging to 16 political parties and independents.

The candidates include 14 women, who are four less than those who had contested in the 2008 elections.

Of the sixty seats, the CPI-M, dominant partner in the Left Front, is contesting 56 seats, RSP two and CPI and Forward Block one each.

Altogether 250 companies of Central Paramilitary Forces are deployed in the state to maintain law and order.

Of the 3,041 booths, 409 were identified as very sensitive (A+), 535 booths as very sensitive (A) and 726 booths as sensitive.

The Border Security Force has completely sealed the 856 km-long border with Bangladesh and deployed additional forces to prevent infiltration.

The Congress-INPT-NCT alliance has made bad governance of the Manik Sarkar-led government a poll issue, alleging that despite availability of central funds employees, unemployeds and farmers in general remained deprived during the long 20-year LF regime.

Corruption and nepotism by party leaders and partisan behaviour of the government are also important issues for the alliance.

CPI-M party secretary Bijon Dhar said, "Tripura has emerged as a model state in the country in terms of good governance having topped the list in the implementation of MNREGA.

No wonder, Dhar claimed, the central government had given 15 awards to the left Front government for successful implementation of various schemes.

Dhar also took credit for ending the four-decade-old insurgency in the state and ensuring peace and development for the people and maintaining communal harmony.

Prominent candidates included Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, finance minister Badal Chowdhury, higher education minister Anil Sarkar, TPCC president Sudip Ray Barman, former chief minister Samir Ranjan Burman, president of the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) Bijay Hrankhwal who was a former insurgent.

Comment