CORRESPONDENT
AGARTALA: The Tripura State Election Commission has issued a notification stating that the final voter list for the election of 587 Village Committees, counterparts of panchayats in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), will be published on June 15. According to the notification, the draft list was published today.
Although the commission has notified the date for publication of the final voter list, uncertainty prevails over the election as the state government has submitted a petition to the Supreme Court seeking permission to defer the election, stating that the situation is not suitable for holding elections in the hilly areas of the state. The petition will be heard on June 16.
The petition was filed after the Supreme Court had earlier directed the state government in a case to hold the Village Committee election before the monsoon. The Village Committee election has been overdue for more than ten years.
The election to the TTAADC was held last April, in which a regional party, TIPRA Motha, led by royal scion Pradyot Bikram Kishor Debbarman, won 24 out of 28 seats, while the ruling BJP won only four seats. After the election, post-poll violence erupted, and many people are still unable to return to their homes. The state government submitted the petition citing this situation, stating that conditions are not suitable for holding free and fair elections.
However, TIPRA Motha rejected the state government's claim and said that after the humiliating defeat in the TTAADC election, the ruling BJP is afraid of facing another election. The party also filed a counter affidavit in the Apex Court opposing the state government's claim.
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