The Tripura State Election Commission has set the groundwork for urban local body elections due by December, covering 21 civic bodies and nearly nine lakh residents across the state.
Key Takeaways:
- Tripura SEC has started preparations for elections to 21 urban local bodies, including Agartala Municipal Corporation.
- The draft polling station list has 784 stations across eight districts, with 439 in Agartala.
- Claims and objections can be filed until September 21, with the final polling station list due on September 25.
The Tripura State Election Commission has begun preparations for elections to 21 urban local bodies across the state. The exercise covers the Agartala Municipal Corporation, 13 Municipal Councils and seven Nagar Panchayats.
The civic polls must take place by December this year, a senior SEC official said on Saturday.
The commission has already taken a key step by publishing a draft list of polling stations. The list covers 784 polling stations across the 21 urban local bodies.
The move marks the beginning of the formal groundwork for the upcoming municipal elections. The SEC will now review claims and objections before finalising the polling arrangements.
Agartala has 439 polling stations
The Agartala Municipal Corporation has the largest number of polling stations among the 21 urban bodies. It accounts for 439 of the 784 stations listed in the draft.
Dharmanagar Municipal Council in North Tripura district follows with 45 polling stations. Udaipur Municipal Council in Gomati district has 35.
Amarpur, Panisagar and Sonamura each have 13 polling stations. Kamalpur, Bishramganj and Jirania have 11 stations each.
Sabroom has the lowest number among the listed municipal areas. It has nine polling stations in the draft list.
The figures provide an early picture of the scale of the civic election exercise across Tripura.
Claims and objections open until September 21
The SEC has invited claims and objections against the draft polling station list until September 21.
The commission will dispose of the objections by September 23. It has scheduled September 25 for publication of the final list of polling stations.
The process will allow stakeholders to raise concerns about the draft arrangements before the commission finalises the polling infrastructure.
The final polling station list will form a key part of the preparations for the urban local body elections.
Nearly nine lakh people covered
The 21 urban local bodies cover eight districts of Tripura. Around nine lakh people live within these civic areas.
The Agartala Municipal Corporation alone accounts for more than four lakh residents.
The figures highlight the large population base that the upcoming urban elections will cover. Agartala, as the state’s largest urban centre, will also have the highest number of polling stations.
The civic election exercise will therefore involve a substantial administrative and logistical operation across the state.
Agartala civic body has a long history
The Agartala Municipality dates back to 1871. It was established during the reign of former king Maharaja Chandra Manikya, who ruled from 1862 to 1896.
The civic body was later renamed the Agartala Municipal Corporation.
Its long institutional history places the upcoming election within a civic administration system that has evolved significantly over more than a century.
Urban poll preparations to gain pace after September 28
The SEC plans to accelerate preparations for the urban local body elections after the Village Committee elections scheduled for September 28.
The Village Committee polls will take place in Tripura’s tribal areas after a gap of 10 years.
The SEC has announced elections for 4,597 seats across 2,634 constituencies covering 587 Village Committees. These bodies perform a role equivalent to Gram Panchayats in the state’s non-tribal areas.
The September 28 rural tribal-area elections are therefore the immediate priority for the commission. Once that exercise concludes, officials expect the preparations for the 21 urban local bodies to move forward more rapidly.
The upcoming urban elections will cover the Agartala Municipal Corporation, 13 Municipal Councils and seven Nagar Panchayats. The SEC’s draft polling station list is the first major step toward finalising the arrangements.
With claims and objections open until September 21, the commission now faces the task of resolving the submissions and publishing the final polling station list on September 25. The civic election process will then move toward the December deadline. (With IANS inputs)
