Agartala, April 9: Voting for the Dharmanagar Assembly by-election in North Tripura began at 7 a.m. on Thursday under tight security arrangements, officials said.
A total of 46,142 voters, including 23,758 women and 22,348 men, are set to decide the fate of six candidates in the multi-cornered contest.
Returning Officer Debjani Choudhury said polling commenced smoothly across all 55 booths, with voters seen queuing at various polling centres to exercise their franchise. She added that webcasting has been implemented at all polling stations, along with the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) equipped with VVPATs to ensure transparency.
Authorities have put in place elaborate security measures to ensure free, fair, and violence-free voting. In view of a possible cyclone between April 8 and 10, adequate sheds have also been installed at all polling booths to safeguard voters.
The bypoll has witnessed participation from all three major political formations—the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Left Front, and Indian National Congress—each contesting independently.
The election was necessitated following the death of Assembly Speaker Biswa Bandhu Sen of the BJP in December last year.
