Tripura VC Polling to be held for 2,950 seats across 1,095 centres, 74 CAPF companies and nearly 8,977 State police and TSR deployed

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, September 27, 2026

The final preparations for the Village Committee elections under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) were completed on Sunday, with polling scheduled across the tribal areas on Monday. The State Election Commission said administrative and security arrangements had been put in place to ensure a peaceful and transparent election.

Polling will be held for 2,950 of the 4,597 seats across 587 Village Committees. A total of 1,644 candidates have already been declared elected unopposed, while three seats have remained vacant as no political party submitted nominations for them. According to the commission, 8,176 candidates are in the fray for the contested seats.

Around 6.65 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the election.

The security arrangements have been strengthened ahead of polling. Seventy-four companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) have been deployed across the State, in addition to nearly 8,977 personnel from the State police and the Tripura State Rifles (TSR).

More than 1,500 senior officers from different security agencies have also been assigned supervisory responsibilities to monitor the law and order situation. The commission said special attention had been given to polling stations identified as highly sensitive, where CAPF personnel have been deployed.

Of the 1,550 polling stations identified for the election, voting will take place at 1,095 centres where candidates are contesting. Around 7,458 polling personnel have been organised into 1,243 teams for conducting the poll.

Polling personnel began leaving designated dispatch centres early on Sunday with ballot boxes and other election material. The commission said most teams had reached their respective polling stations by Sunday evening, including teams assigned to remote and difficult-to-access areas.

Unlike elections conducted using electronic voting machines, the Village Committee election will be conducted through ballot papers. Four colours — white, light pink, light green and light blue — have been assigned to ballot papers according to the seats being contested.

The commission said the colour-coding system would facilitate the identification of ballot papers for the respective seats and help both voters and polling personnel during the voting process.

The polling personnel have been trained in the procedures relating to ballot papers, the commission said. They have also been briefed on the prescribed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the conduct of polling.

The State Election Commission has conducted coordination and training meetings with Returning Officers through video conferences. The meetings were aimed at addressing procedural issues and ensuring that officials were familiar with the guidelines to be followed on polling day.

After polling concludes on Monday, the polling teams will return with the sealed ballot boxes to designated receiving centres at the offices of the respective Returning Officers.

Preparations for the counting process have also begun. Counting centres have been identified at different locations across the State, while the appointment of counting supervisors and counting assistants is under way. The personnel assigned to counting duties will be trained before the counting date, the commission said.

The elections come after weeks of political campaigning in the tribal areas, with the BJP, Tipra Motha, CPI(M), Congress and other parties contesting the seats. The poll is being held at a time when political activity in the State has intensified over the future composition and functioning of village-level institutions under the autonomous district council.

The commission has appealed to voters to participate in the election and exercise their constitutional right peacefully. It said the necessary administrative and security arrangements had been completed to facilitate a free and transparent voting process.

The deployment of security personnel and the movement of polling teams to remote areas were being closely monitored on Sunday. With polling scheduled for Monday, the administration now faces the task of ensuring that the extensive logistical and security arrangements translate into an orderly voting process across the tribal areas.

The election will be followed by the counting process, for which the commission has already initiated preparations.

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