The Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front on Wednesday announced that it will boycott the vote counting for the Tripura bye-polls, alleging that the Election Commission did not take steps to prevent large-scale rigging.
The polling in the Dhanpur and Boxanagar Assembly constituencies in Sepahijala district was held on Tuesday. The results will be declared on Friday.
The polls were held as CPI(M) leader Samsul Haque, who was elected from the Boxanagar constituency, died and Union minister Pratima Bhoumik, who won on a BJP ticket from Dhanpur, resigned.
The BJP and the CPI(M) were the only major political parties in the fray. The Congress and the Tripra Motha did not field any candidates in the two seats.
On Wednesday night, Left Front convenor Narayan Kar said that his party had drawn the attention of the Election Commission to the alleged rigging from the beginning of the polling.
“The motive of the EC is amply clear,” he alleged. “In this situation, what is the point of joining the counting of votes, scheduled for September 8? Therefore, we have decided to boycott the counting.”
On Tuesday, the CPI(M) alleged that the entire bye-poll process had been “reduced to complete mockery”. Kaushik Chanda, the CPI(M) candidate contesting the Dhanpur seat, alleged that false voting took place in several polling booths.
But Bindu Debnath, the BJP candidate contesting Dhanpur constituency, rejected the allegations saying that voters have “come out wholeheartedly in favour” of his party.
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