In the midst of a buoyant atmosphere within the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which expressed strong confidence in securing a resounding victory in the by-polls for the 20-Boxanagar and 23-Dhanpur assembly constituencies in Tripura, the opposition, represented by the Communist Party of India – Marxist (CPI-M) has raised substantial concerns, calling for a re-poll in both constituencies.
At a press conference held at Agartala’s Dasharath Deb Smriti Bhavan on Tuesday evening, Narayan Kar, the Left Front convenor, leveled serious allegations against the ruling BJP. Kar asserted that the by-elections in Boxanagar and Dhanpur had been tainted by extensive irregularities, purportedly masterminded by BJP supporters and facilitated by certain members of the police and Civil Administration.
Kar claimed, “Shortly after the culmination of the election campaigns in both constituencies, a substantial influx of outsiders affiliated with the BJP descended upon the Sonamura subdivision, where they allegedly sought to influence the polling process in Dhanpur and Boxanagar assembly constituencies.”
He expressed profound concerns about the role of law enforcement agencies in these developments.
According to Kar, instead of promptly removing these outsiders from the constituencies and the adjacent areas, they were allowed to stay and were strategically positioned to exert influence on the polling day. He disclosed that only 16 CPI-M polling agents managed to attend polling booths in the 20-Boxanagar assembly constituency, and a mere 19 in the 23-Dhanpur assembly constituency.
Shockingly, most of them, Kar alleged, were forcibly ejected from the polling booths by individuals aligned with the BJP.
Kar further contended that BJP workers and supporters engaged in intimidation tactics, stating, “From the early hours of Tuesday, outsiders mobilized by the BJP allegedly resorted to terror tactics and intimidation to deter opposition supporters from accessing the polling booths.”
He went on to allege that in several polling stations, voters were coerced into casting their ballots in the presence of BJP supporters, or, in some instances, the supporters cast votes on behalf of the voters themselves.
Kar did not mince words when criticizing the role of the police, asserting, “Despite the gravity of the situation, the police, seemingly influenced by the administration, failed to take any effective action to curb the actions of BJP supporters, thereby turning the elections in both constituencies into a complete mockery.”
In such a situation, the Left Front convenor demanded the annulment of the entire election process in both the 20-Boxanagar and 23-Dhanpur constituencies.
He called for holding of a fresh election with the strictest security measures in place to ensure the integrity of the democratic process. Additionally, Kar called for the immediate arrest of Minister Bikash Debbarma, accusing him of physically leading a substantial number of miscreants in orchestrating acts of voter intimidation and employing terror tactics.