By- Editor Banibrata Datta
Bharatiya Janata Party is cruising along smoothly in Tripura and leading in 39 Assembly seats as per the early trends. TIPRA Motha is leading in 5 seats while Congress-CPM alliance in 4 seats.
Counting of votes, polled in the February Assembly elections in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland, began on Thursday morning under three-tier security measures, including central paramilitary forces, officials said.
In Tripura, counting of postal ballots is in progress. So far, trends are available for only 48 seats out of total 60 seats. After the counting of the postal ballots, counting of EVM will start.
Assembly elections were held on February 16 in Tripura, where 89.95 per cent of the 28.14 lakh voters exercised their franchise to decide the fate of 259 candidates, including 31 women, in fray for the state’s 60 seats.
Officials said that counting is on at 60 centres in 21 locations across Tripura.
Meantime, in the Meghalaya and Nagaland Assembly elections on February 27, 85.17 per cent of Meghalaya’s 21.75 lakh electors and 85.90 per cent of Nagaland’s 13.16 lakh voters cast their ballots.
Meghalaya Chief Electoral Officer F.R. Kharkongor told FTFMI that vote counting is taking place at 13 centres in all 12 district headquarters and one sub-divisional headquarter in Sohra.
Nagaland election officials said that the votes are being counted in 59 centres across the 16 district headquarters.
Balloting was not held in one Assembly constituency in each Meghalaya and Nagaland, which also have 60-member Assemblies.
Polling was not held in Sohiong constituency in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills district, following the death of United Democratic Party candidate, H. Donkupar Roy Lyngdoh. In Nagaland, ruling Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Kazheto Kinimi was re-elected unopposed from the Akuluto constituency after his only opponent, Khekashe Sumi of the Congress withdrew his candidature.
A total of 183 candidates, including four women, were contesting in Nagaland and 369 candidates, including 36 women, in Meghalaya.
