Ruling BJP sweeps in 3-tier panchayat polls in Tripura

Agartala, Aug 13 (IANS) The ruling BJP swept the three-tier panchayat elections in Tripura on Tuesday, securing most of the seats in the zilla parishads, panchayat samitis and gram panchayats, election officials said.According to the State Election Commission (SEC), before the August 8 elections, the BJP had won 4,806 (70 per cent) of the total of 6,909 seats unopposed in the gram panchayats, panchayat samitis, and zilla parishads following which elections were held in 1,819 seats in 606 gram panchayats, 188 seats in 35 panchayat samitis, and 96 seats in eight zilla parishads.As per the results announced on Tuesday, the BJP won 113 out of 116 seats in the eight zilla parishads, the Congress secured two seats, while one seat went to the CPI-M.Out of the 423 seats in the 35 panchayat samitis, the BJP won 403, the Congress managed eight seats, the CPI-M seven, while one seat was won by an Independent candidate. The results for the remaining four seats are yet to be announced.Out of the 6,370 seats in the 606 gram panchayats, the BJP secured 5,883 seats, followed by the Congress (138), CPI-M (137), BJP ally Tipra Motha Party (102), and Independents (20). The results for the remaining seats are yet to be announced. A total of 33 per cent seats in the three-tier panchayat system were reserved for women.In all, 4,761 candidates representing different political parties contested the elections in eight districts, excluding the areas under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), where village committee (equivalent to gram panchayats) elections will be held later.On July 18, the Tripura High Court directed the SEC to conduct free and fair gram panchayat elections.The high court passed the order after the opposition Congress and the CPI (M) filed separate petitions before the court seeking its directions to the SEC to conduct the panchayat elections freely and fairly after a large number of violent incidents took place across the state when the opposition candidates tried to submit their nominations.Amid allegations of pre-poll violence, intimidation, and attacks, CPI (M) and Congress leaders termed the entire election process a “farce”, an accusation which the BJP rejected. –IANSsc/arm