Agartala, April 9: The Dharmanagar Assembly by-election in North Tripura recorded a voter turnout of 15.63 per cent till 9 a.m., with polling progressing smoothly and no reports of EVM malfunction.
The bypoll was necessitated following the demise of BJP MLA and Tripura Assembly Speaker Biswabandu Sen. Voting began at 7 a.m. and is being conducted across 55 polling stations in the constituency.
Chief Electoral Officer Brijesh Pandey said the election process is proceeding without disruption, while Returning Officer Debjani Chowdhury confirmed that polling has remained smooth since the early hours.
A total of six candidates are contesting the seat, including Jahar Chakraborty of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Chayan Bhattacharya of the Indian National Congress, Amitabh Datta of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), SUCI candidate Sanjay Chowdhury, Independent Brajalal Debnath, and Amra Bangali nominee Bibhas Ranjan Das.
The electorate comprises 46,183 voters, including 22,380 men, 23,763 women, and 924 newly registered voters.
Special arrangements have been made to facilitate voting, including 11 model polling stations and 11 all-women managed booths, along with dedicated “pink counters” for women polling personnel. Security has been tightened with the deployment of central forces, Tripura State Rifles, and state police, supported by Quick Reaction Teams to ensure a peaceful polling process.
