People's Democracy

Tripura Assembly Polls: Highlights

 

1) OUT of the total voter strength of 23,55,446, the number of votes polled was 22,05,521, that is 93.63 per cent. This was the highest ever turnout not only in the state but in the whole country.

 

2) One of the most notable features of the voters turnout in this election was that female turnout was two per cent higher than the male turnout.

 

3) Out of the 22,05,521 votes polled, valid votes numbered 22,02,087, i.e. 93.49 per cent of the total votes polled.

 

4) Out of the total 60 seats to which elections were held, the Left Front won 50 seats --- CPI(M) 49 and CPI 1 --- while the Congress won 10. The alliance partners of the Congress got no seat.

 

5) This is the first time since 1978 when the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura has no representation in the assembly. Known as the Tripura Upajati Juba Samiti earlier, the INPT is the open political wing of the terrorist-extremist National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and an ally of the Congress.

 

6) Of the 20 seats reserved for the scheduled tribes (ST seats), 19 seats were won by the Left Front, with just one seat left for the Congress.

 

7) Out of the 10 seats meant for the scheduled tribes (SC seats), the Left Front won eight and the Congress two.

 

8) The percentage shares of various parties in the valid votes polled are as below: Left Front 52.32 per cent, Congress 36.54 per cent, INPT 8.11 per cent, BJP 1.54 per cent, IPFT 0.46 per cent, Others 1.03 per cent.

 

9) Out of the 50 seats won by the Left Front, 45 seats were won with 50 per cent or more votes, including six seats where the Left Front won with 60 per cent or more. Only five seats the Left Front won with less than 50 per cent votes.

 

10) All the five women candidates fielded by the Left Front won with comfortable margins.

 

11) Of the 10 seats bagged by the Congress, six seats were won with 50 per cent or more votes. The party won three seats by thin margins.

 

12) Out of the 10 seats won by the Congress, nine are in urban areas and only one is a rural-tribal reserved seat.

 

13) Out of the 50 candidates contested by the BJP, the party lost deposit in all the seats except one. The BJP could gain some support in only one seat (Dharmanagar) which the Left Front won.

 

14) Some other parties (like the NCP, SP, IPFT (a break-away group of INPT), CPI(ML), SUCI and Amara Bangali etc) as well as independents contested in a good number of constituencies. But their performances were insignificant and none of them could save their deposits.

 

15) In the 20 ST seats, the Left Front polled 3,65,999 out of 6,85,081 valid votes, i.e. 53.42 per cent

 

16) Similarly, in the 10 SC reserved seats, the Left Front polled 2,10,763 out of 3,96,741 valid votes, i.e. 53.23 per cent. The Congress led alliance polled 43.31 per cent in the ST seats and 44.00 per cent in the SC seats.