Over 20K CAPF, state force to oversee LS poll security in Tripura

A record number of over 20,000 security personnel comprising Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) and state force personnel have been deployed in Tripura for the elections to two Lok Sabha constituencies and the by-poll in one Assembly seat in the state, officials said here on Friday.

A top police officer said that with the direction of the Election Commission (EC), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has already sent 84 companies (around 8,000 personnel) of CAPF comprising the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which have already been deployed in all the eight districts of the state.

He said that besides the CAPF over 10,000 Tripura State Rifles (TSR) and a few thousand state police personnel are also being deployed for the elections scheduled on April 19 and April 26.

"The security forces are conducting area domination, confidence building measures patrolling to ensure normal law and order situation so that free, fair and violence free elections can be held," an official told IANS.

Tripura Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Puneet Agarwal said that earlier this week a "Mission Violence Free Election 2024" was launched in Tripura to ensure a 100 per cent violence-free election.

Agarwal said that ahead of the elections to the state's two Lok Sabha seats, 2,500 flag marches and area domination patrolling were conducted by the CAPF and the state forces since last month.

He said that various law enforcement agencies have seized various contraband items including drugs worth Rs 9 crore during the last month.

The CEO said that in the previous 17th Lok Sabha elections, 83 per cent voting was recorded and in the 18th Lok Sabha polls, the target is to exceed the 2019 turnout.

He said that under the ‘Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP)' various socio-cultural events including drawing ‘Alpanas’, (a decorative design) are being organised to sensitise both new and old voters to cast their votes in large numbers.

Agarwal said that on the direction of the Election Commission, the concerned authorities have suspended six government employees including teachers and security personnel, who were directly involved with political activities.

The police as part of preventive arrests have also detained 12,000 persons across Tripura.

Polling for the Tripura West Parliamentary seat will be held on April 19 in the first of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections, while the Tripura East (ST) constituency will go to the polls in the second phase on April 26.

The by-election to the Ramnagar Assembly seat will also be held on April 19. The seat fell vacant after the demise of sitting BJP MLA Surajit Datta on December 28 last year.

In the 18 candidates, including two women, are contesting on the two Lok Sabha seats while two candidates, one each of BJP and CPI-M, are trying their electoral fortunes in the Ramnagar Assembly by-poll.

In the Lok Sabha poll in two seats, the main contest is expected to be between the BJP and the INDIA bloc, comprising the Congress, CPI-M and six other parties.