AGARTALA: Getting ready for the vote counting for two Lok Sabha seats and one Assembly segment in Tripura on June 4, Tripura Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Puneet Agarwal announced that counting will begin at 8 am at 20 centers, in line with the rest of the country.
"We have made all necessary arrangements, including strong security measures, to ensure a smooth counting process," Agarwal told reporters at the state secretariat.
In the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 19, the West Tripura Lok Sabha constituency had a voter turnout of 82.52%, while the East Tripura constituency recorded 80.32% in the second phase on April 26. The bypoll for the Ramnagar Assembly seat on April 19 had a voter turnout of 67.81%.
The West Tripura and East Tripura (ST reserved) constituencies each include 30 Assembly seats and will have 60 counting halls.
There are separate counting halls for postal ballots. Votes from the 30 Assembly segments of the West Tripura seat will be counted at seven locations, while votes for the East Tripura seat will be counted at 15 locations.
The electronic voting machines (EVMs) have been kept in secure rooms at all 20 counting centers, following the guidelines of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
CEO Agarwal stated that sufficient security measures were implemented to guarantee a fair, transparent, and orderly counting process. Barricades were installed, CCTV cameras covered all strong rooms and counting halls, and a three-tier security system was in place to prevent unauthorized access to the counting venues.
The 2024 Lok Sabha elections hold great importance for Tripura for several reasons. This year, around 37,000 Bru migrants, who had been living in temporary relief camps in Tripura since 1997 after fleeing from Mamit, Kolasib, and Lunglei districts of Mizoram, were able to vote as permanent residents in a Lok Sabha election for the first time.
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