Congress reiterates demand of re-polling to 579 booths in Tripura West

AGARTALA: Demanding personal meeting of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Tripura with the micro observers engaged in first phase election to Tripura West on April 19, senior Congress leader and MLA Sudip Roybarman sought fresh polling in as many as 579 booths of 1685 reiterating the allegation of false and proxy voting.

Addressing a letter to CEO Puneet Agrawal, Roybarman on Saturday stated, “I had the opportunity in interacting with many micro-observers and was shocked to learn that the AROs of South, Gomati and Sepahijala forced them to change their reports of massive false voting in as many as 400 polling booths, which can be established through an independent inquiry by ECI.”

A day after the polling to West Tripura and by-poll to Ramnagar, main opposition Congress and CPI-M separately demanded countermand the elections and to hold a fresh polling alleging that BJP backed miscreants didn’t allow opposition’s agents in more than 80 percent booths.

A sizable number of opposition voters in each of the 30 assembly segments were prevented from voting with the help of the election machinery and security forces. Proxy voting was carried out at maximum polling stations and several polling booths had registered higher voting than the actual number of voters.

However, the Returning Officer had later refuted the allegations with the explanation that in two particular cases referred by CPI-M was found because voters from other assembly segments casted their votes in some booths with Election Duty Certificate (EDC) and as a result, the number of vote casted was higher than the listed voters.

Responding to the argument, Sudip questioned CEO, said, “In 44th booth of Majlishpur assembly segment male voters in the electoral roll was 277 and female was 268 but the male voters casting was reflected as 320, which is 43 more and 43 EDC voters cast their vote in a booth. Similarly, in 24th booth had recorded 62 EDC votes, which is surprising. The same instances found in many other booths are no way justifiable.”

He alleged that the glaring examples of the election being a complete farce and raised questions over the projection of the poll panel as free and fair and added, “Innumerable voters were obstructed, refrained from voting and no police or election machinery was available to ensure the protection of voting rights.”

He enclosed a list of 579 polling booths and alleged that, where election was rigged through proxy voting obstructing the actual voters by the ruling party cadres. CCTV surveillance and webcasting were disrupted due to a long unusual power cut from the previous night of the election and ECI couldn’t ensure alternative arrangement of monitoring.

In the letter he also mentioned that the poll panel has assured the Congress delegation of a 3-layer security system, which could not be provided in the April 19 election, but expressed happiness to see the same being available during the election of April 26 at East Tripura PC.

He also asked the poll panel why the step motherly attitude rendered to Congress and alleged that the poll panel had given a smooth passage to a former Chief Minister to ensure his winning by rigging through false voting, threatening polling agents and obstructing the voters.