The Election Commission on Monday said the polling percentage of Tripura Assembly elections was registered 89.8 per cent. In the last Assembly elections, the voter turnout was recorded at 91.82 per cent, while in the 2014 lok Sabha polls, it was 84.32 per cent.
The polling for 59 seats of the 60-member Assembly was held peacefully with thousands of Central Paramilitary Forces fanning across the northeastern State. There were reports of malfunctioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) at some polling stations which were rectified. Polling could not be held in Charilam constituency due to the death of CPI(M) candidate Ramendra Narayan Deb Barma last week. The constituency will go to polls on March 12.
The BJP, hitherto an "also ran" in the border State, has emerged as the key challenger to the CPI(M)-led left Front, which has remained unvanquished in the last five Assembly elections.
Manik Sarkar, one of the most enduring icons of the CPI(M), has led the state for the last four terms. The Congress, which has been marginalised in Tripura, was last in power between February 1988 and March 1993.