Agartala, August 24:
The Tripura State Election Commission has stepped up preparations for elections to the village committees under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), with Returning Officers being briefed on election rules, nomination procedures, the Model Code of Conduct and counting arrangements amid heightened political attention over the long-delayed polls.
A workshop for the Returning Officers—Block Development Officers (BDOs) of the concerned blocks—was held at Pragya Bhavan here on Monday under the chairmanship of State Election Commissioner Dr Pradip Chakraborty to assess preparedness and familiarise officials with the procedures required for conducting the elections.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the meeting, Chakraborty said the Returning Officers were being given detailed guidance on the conduct of the electoral process, including receipt of nomination papers, scrutiny of nominations, preparation of the final list of contesting candidates and counting of votes.
“The Returning Officers are the BDOs of all the concerned blocks. They have been called here to discuss their preparedness and what needs to be done, including the rules and regulations, observance of the Model Code of Conduct, receipt of nomination papers and scrutiny of nomination papers,” he said.
The Commission also discussed the subsequent counting procedure, with resource persons briefing the Returning Officers on different aspects of election management.
The preparations assume significance as the TTAADC village committee elections have remained a politically contentious issue, with both the BJP and Tipra Motha under pressure over the conduct of the polls.
Chakraborty said the Commission and the Tripura government had jointly submitted an affidavit before the Supreme Court outlining a timeline for completion of the electoral process and indicated that the elections would broadly follow that schedule.
According to the timeline contained in the affidavit, nominations are proposed to be filed from September 1 to 8, followed by scrutiny and withdrawal between September 9 and 11. The campaign period is proposed from September 12 to 26, with polling scheduled for September 27.
The proposed timeline provides October 1 as the deadline for any repoll, with counting scheduled for October 3 and completion of the entire electoral process by October 5.
However, Chakraborty made it clear that the formal election schedule was yet to be announced by the Commission.
“You will get the schedule very shortly. We are going to announce,” he told reporters.
Law-and-order preparedness was also discussed as part of the election planning. Chakraborty said the Commission had already held discussions with police officials and would shortly hold another meeting with the Director General of Police to assess possible security challenges and finalise arrangements.
He said security would involve both the state police and central security forces in accordance with the directions and arrangements governing the election.
“As far as law and order is concerned, we are aware of it. We had a meeting with the police personnel also. We will also hold another round of meeting with the DGP very shortly, so that whatever visible or possible law-and-order situation comes up can be dealt with by the police,” Chakraborty said.
The State Election Commission’s latest exercise marks a significant administrative push towards the village committee elections, which are expected to carry considerable political weight in Tripura’s tribal belt.
The forthcoming polls are likely to be closely watched as a political test for the BJP and its ally Tipra Motha in the TTAADC areas, where issues of indigenous rights, governance, employment and development remain central to the electoral discourse.
With Returning Officers now undergoing procedural training and security preparations being reviewed, the focus has shifted to the State Election Commission’s formal notification, which will officially set the election process in motion.
