Agartala, Sep 28: About 75 per cent of voters had cast their ballots in elections to 587 village committees under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) till 4 pm on Monday, an official said, even as authorities reported a shooting at a polling-related location in Gomati district.
Turnout and polling details
Voting began at 8 am across 1,095 polling booths in the Sixth Schedule areas and proceeded largely without disruption, State Election Commission secretary Anurag Sen said. Tribal men and women in traditional attire queued at booths and exercised their franchise amid tight security arrangements deployed for the polls.
Of the total 4,597 seats in the 587 village committees, polling was contested for 2,950 seats. The remainder — 1,644 seats — were won unopposed by candidates from the Tipra Motha Party (TMP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the officials said.
Security incident in Gomati
State police reported that a Tipra Motha Party candidate was shot at by unidentified assailants at Warengbari in Gomati district. Two other persons were also injured in the incident, but police said details were still being ascertained.
“Two more persons were also injured at the place, but details are yet to come,” state police spokesperson Rajdeep Deb was quoted as saying.
Scale of contest and electorate
A total of 8,176 candidates from major political parties — TMP, BJP, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Congress and Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) — were in the fray for the contested seats. The TTAADC administers nearly two-thirds of Tripura’s geographical area, covering a population of around 15 lakh.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Village committees | 587 |
| Polling booths | 1,095 |
| Total seats | 4,597 |
| Seats contested | 2,950 |
| Seats unopposed | 1,644 |
| Candidates in fray | 8,176 |
| Registered voters (TTAADC area) | 9,61,977 |
Official responses
Chief Minister Manik Saha congratulated voters for their participation, saying voting "passed off peacefully amid tight security" and noting long queues at polling booths.
“Voting for Village Committees passed off peacefully amid tight security. Long queue of enthusiastic electors was seen in front of polling booths and they exercised their democratic right to choose their representatives,” he said.
Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Jitendra Chadhury also hailed the peaceful conduct of voting, according to reports.
Context and implications
The TTAADC elections are being held after a gap of nearly a decade following earlier interventions. The council holds administrative powers under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution for areas with significant tribal populations; the outcome of these village committee polls can influence grassroots governance and local resource allocation in the predominantly tribal tracts.
While the overall polling figure suggests robust participation, the shooting incident at Warengbari will be subject to a police probe. The authorities have not yet released details on motive, suspects or the condition of the injured.
What to expect next
Counting and declaration of results for the contested village committee seats will be governed by the schedule issued by the State Election Commission. Officials have said polling was to continue until 4 pm; any verified updates on the security incident or irregularities will be provided by police and election authorities in due course.
- Turnout: ~75% till 4 pm across the TTAADC area.
- Security: Tight deployment reported; one shooting incident under investigation.
- Contests: 2,950 seats saw polling; 1,644 seats were uncontested.
Officials emphasised that investigations into the Warengbari shooting are ongoing and asked for public cooperation. Further statements from the State Election Commission and police were awaited.
