By Firstdespatch Desk Feb 14, 2023
Agartala, Feb 14 (FD): Campaign for the February 16 Assembly elections for the sixty-member assembly constituencies in Tripura came to an end today afternoon.
Tripura Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Gitte Kirankumar Dinkarrao said elections would be held in eight districts of the state where heavy security forces were deployed to ensure zero poll violence.
Highly placed police sources said, the Ministry of Home Affairs has provided 400 companies (30,000 security personnel) of CAPF comprising Assam Rifles, Border Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force, Central Industrial Security Force, around 9,000 TSR jawans and 6,000 Tripura police personnel.
The CEO said, 259 candidates including 31 women are in the fray including 55 candidates from the ruling BJP, followed by CPI-M (43), Tipra Motha Party (42), Trinamool Congress (28), and Congress (13).
The Congress and the CPI-M led Left Front for the first time stitched an alliance in and they also held joint rallies in different parts of the state. The Left Front put up candidates in 47 seats and allotted 13 seats to the Congress.
Meanwhile, a prohibitory order under section 144 Cr PC was imposed in the state which will continue till 6AM of 17th February.
The star campaigners included Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J.P. Nadda, defense Ministers Rajnath Singh, Assam Chief Ministers Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam), Yogi Adityanath (UP), and N. Biren Singh (Manipur), CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury, politburo member Prakash Karat, Brinda Karat, former Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar. FD JK