Tripura: BJP wins 85 per cent rural poll seats uncontested

Agartala: The BJP has won 85 per cent of the seats uncontested in panchayat polls in Tripura, amidst allegations of threats to candidates of opposition parties.

The rural polls are scheduled to be held in the north eastern state on July 27.

"Of the total 6,646 seats comprising gram panchayats, panchayat samities and zilla parishads, the BJP has won 5,652 seats uncontested," secretary of the state Election Commission, Prasenjit Bhattacharya said Saturday.

Polling will now be held for around 850 gram panchayats, 85 panchayat samities and 80 zilla parishad seats, Bhattacharya said. Tripura has a total 591 gram panchayats having 6,111 seats, 35 panchayat samities with 419 seats and eight zilla parishads having 116 seats, he said. July 11 was the last date for withdrawal of nominations and the counting will take place on July 31.

Altogether, 12,03,070 voters, including 6,16,893 males and 5, 86,176 women will exercise their franchise at 2,623 polling stations between 7 am to 4 pm on the polling day.

"White ballot papers would be used for gram panchayat polls, pink ones for panchayat samities and green papers for zilla parishads," Bhattacharya said.

The opposition CPI(M) and the Congress have alleged that their candidates were "threatened and attacked" by "BJP-backed goons".

They have also accused "armed gangs" of the saffron party of preventing their candidates from collecting and filing their nomination papers during the scheduled nomination period from July 1 to July 8.

About 121 CPI(M) candidates were forced to withdraw their nomination papers on the last day of withdrawal on July 11, the party claimed.

Bike-borne BJP workers were stationed before the election offices so that no opposition candidate could collect or submit nomination papers, it said, adding that in most of the places the police were just onlookers.