1. The first phase of the Lok Sabha election in the West Parliamentary Constituency and 7-Ramnagar Assembly Constituency begins today in Tripura.
2. Main battle in Tripura West between BJP’s Biplab Kumar Deb and Congress’ Asish Kumar Saha.
3. Nine candidates are in the fray for the Tripura West Lok Sabha seat, but attention is on the Deb vs. Saha rivalry.
Agartala, April 19: The electoral stage is primed for the commencement of the first phase of the Lok Sabha election in the West Parliamentary Constituency and the 7-Ramnagar Assembly Constituency, scheduled for today in Tripura.
Though nine candidates are vying for victory in the Tripura West Lok Sabha constituency, the spotlight primarily shines on the fierce competition between BJP candidate Biplab Kumar Deb and state Congress president Asish Kumar Saha.
In the 7-Ramnagar Assembly Constituency, the battleground is set for a showdown between BJP candidate Dipak Majumder and the INDI bloc candidate and former CPIM MLA, Ratan Das.
Comprising 30 assembly constituency segments, the West Tripura Parliamentary Constituency spans 14 Assembly Constituencies in the West, 9 in Sepahijala, 4 in Gomati, and 3 in the South District.
A staggering total of 14,61,836 electorates are geared up to exercise their franchise for the West Lok Sabha constituency, including 7,33,645 male voters, 7,28,315 female voters, and 58 transgender voters. In Ramnagar, the electorate stands at 45,669.
The voting is slated to kick off at 7 AM and will continue unabated till 5 PM.
With 1,685 polling booths scattered across both urban and rural areas, bolstered by the deployment of around 20,000 polling personnel, the machinery of democracy is in full swing. Among these polling stations, 391 are deemed vulnerable, while 171 are categorized as critical.
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Dr. Visal Kumar, the Returning Officer of the West Parliamentary Constituency, affirms that alongside the polling personnel, a substantial contingent of CAPF personnel, Tripura State Rifles, and Tripura Police have been mobilized to ensure tranquillity throughout the polling day. He emphasizes that 100% webcasting will be in place across all polling stations.
Reflecting on the past, in the 2019 election, BJP candidate Pratima Bhoumik clinched victory with 573,532 votes in this constituency, while Congress candidate Subal Bhowmik secured 267,843 votes, and CPI-M candidate Shankar Prasad Dutta garnered 171,826 votes.
In the preceding 2014 Lok Sabha elections, CPIM’s Shankar Prasad Dutta emerged triumphant from the Tripura West seat, triumphing over his Congress opponent Arunoday Saha with a margin of 503,486 votes.
