Many polling stations identified sensitive in Tripura

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Ashutosh Jindal informed that 3041 polling stations have been categorised as hyper sensitive, sensitive, politically vulnerable and general.

AGARTALA12-02-2013Thousand of Congress supporters attending the last meeting of the Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi at Astabal ground in Agartala on Tuesday, 12 February 2013. With the Tripura Assembly polls hardly a day away, both the ruling Left Front and opposition Congress and BJP are holding a series of meetings to woo the voters on the last day of the election campaigning. Over 23 lakh voters, nearly half of whom are women, will exercise their franchise in the February 14 elections to the 60-member assembly in Tripura state.PHOTO: RITU_RAJ_KONWAR - caption

Authorities have deployed security forces in strength as Tripura readies to hold assembly election on Thursday. Besides Tripura State Rifles (TSR) and the armed police, 260 additional companies of central paramilitary forces have reached for election related duties across the state.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Ashutosh Jindal informed that 3041 polling stations have been categorised as hyper sensitive, sensitive, politically vulnerable and general. “We have marked 32 polling stations hyper sensitive, 112 sensitive and 656 politically vulnerable,” he said on Tuesday.

Special deployment of security personnel would be made in hyper sensitive and sensitive polling stations. Most of the polling stations in Dhalai district have been marked either of two.

Meanwhile, Border Security Force has sealed border with Bangladesh and intensified surveillance. Sources said alert on the border would continue till February 15 – a day after the election.

Teams comprising polling staff and security personnel would reach respective polling station tomorrow. Unlike previous elections, polling parties would commence journey to the remotely located polling stations the same day.

The Election Commission has already banned use of mobile phones within 100 meter radius of a polling station. However observers, micro observers, presiding and security officers are exempted.

Some 50,000 state government officers and staffs are engaged in polling exercise in Tripura.