Counting of ballots tomorrow, all arrangements made for smooth and trouble free counting of ballots

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, June 25, 2022

The tension ridden counting of ballots of last Thursday’s (23rd June) by-elections to 6-Agartala, 8-Town Bardowali, 46-Surma and 57-Jubaraj Nagar assembly constituencies will commence from 8-00 AM tomorrow in the counting centres at Agartala , Kamalpur and Dharma Nagar. In view of the violence and goonery witnessed in two assembly constituencies at Agartala on the day of polling the election commission has made strict arrangements for smooth and peaceful counting of ballots tomorrow.

While prohibitory orders under Section-144 is already in force , central police forces will be on duty inside and outside the counting halls at U.K.Academy school. The counting of ballots will continue till the end uninterruptedly. The first results will be declared within 10-00 in the morning . All arrangements in the counting hall have been made for a smooth and peaceful counting , the officers in charge of the process said.

However, the opposition parties and their candidates have expressed concern over the smooth progress of counting. “The election commission had ostensibly made so-called all arrangements for smooth election but what happened on the polling day we all saw ; there is strong possibility that counting will also be manipulated ; we have no faith in the state’s employees in charge of counting as they must be under pressure to show bundles of 100 votes for BJP as 200 on pain of transfer or other forms of victimization ; the BJP has made the entire system rotten and the spineless police force and the government machinery have become collaborators” said Subal. He however said that in a free and fair election BJP would have lost all four seats miserably but the outcome now is uncertain because even counting will also be manipulated , otherwise ‘anti-people’ BJP has no chance.