Counting begins in Tripura state assembly elections

Counting of votes for the 60 Assembly seats in Tripura began at 8am this morning amidst tight security. The counting began at 17 venues in eight districts of the state with three-tier security in each counting hall, sources in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer said. [caption id=“attachment_642780” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] PTI[/caption] Among prominent candidates whose electoral fates would be decided are Chief Minister Manik Sarkar from Dhanpur, Finance Minister Badal Chowdhury from Hrishyamukh, Higher Education Minister Anil Sarkar from Pratapgarh, and Industries and Commerce Minister Jitendra Chowdhury from Manu (ST). The electoral fortunes of TPCC President Sudip Ray Barman from Agartala, Leader of the Opposition Ratan Lal Nath of Congress from Mohanpur and President of the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura Bijay Hrankhwal from Ambassa are also on the line. Around 2,500 employees, including counting supervisors and counting assistants, have been engaged together with micro observers and Election Commission appointed observers. Prohibitory orders have been imposed within 100 meter of each counting hall where CCTV cameras have also been installed. The 856 km border with neighbouring Bangladesh has been sealed since yesterday. The elections were held on 14 February. PTI