Agartala, March 2:
BJP is leading in 21 seats, as the initial round of counting of votes in Tripura elections is underway. The Left-Congress alliance is leading in 16 seats while Tipra Motha is leading in eight seats.
but the latter not very far behind. BJP crossed the halfway mark in early leads but the numbers have dropped again now, while the Left+ has picked up in the race. The tight fight between BJP and Left+ may lead to the emergence of ex-Royal Pradyot Manikya-led Tipra Motha’s likely emergence as the ‘kingmaker’.
Counting of votes for the assembly election to the 60 constituencies in Tripura began at 8 am with tight security arrangements. According to election officials, there will be around five to eight rounds of counting, while the trends are expected to be clear by noon.
Tripura had recorded a turnout of 89.98 per cent in the assembly election which most exit polls have given a clean sweep to BJP, but some predicted a hung house in the state of Tripura, where a new party – the Tipra Motha – may emerge as a potential kingmaker in the polls, held a week back.
“Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC have been clamped across the state from 6 pm on March 1 to 6 am on March 3 to prevent any untoward incident, but essential services and examinees have been kept out of its purview,” as quoted by an election official as saying.
