West Tripura Parliamentary seat Returning Officer’s surprise visit at strong room

A three-tier security has been put in place at the strong room cum vote counting centre at the Umakata Academy in Agartala, Tripura where electronic voting machines (EVMs) of 14 assembly segments of the West Tripura parliamentary constituency have been stored.

Vishal Kumar, the Returning Officer of West Tripura Parliamentary constituency, conducted a surprise inspection at the vote counting centre today to assess security measures to safeguard the EVMs.

Speaking to Northeast Live, Vishal Kumar who is also the District Magistrate of West Tripura district said that 3-tier security has been put in place and the district administration is continuously monitoring the security arrangements.

He said that CCTV surveillance with live feed monitoring is used in addition to the regular deployment of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel for inner ring security.

“The Umakata Academy is one of the secure places. Moreover, more than 60 CCTV cameras have been installed in the area and security forces deployed in the area doing their best to safeguard the EVMs and to avoid any untoward incidents,” said Vishal Kumar,

Preparations are underway for the counting process scheduled for June 4, ensuring smooth and secure procedures for the tallying of votes, he added.

Tripura has two Lok Sabha seats– West Tripura and East Tripura.

Polling for the West Tripura Lok Sabha seat was held on April 19 in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024. While, voting for the Tripura East Lok Sabha seat was held on April 26 in the second phase.

Former Tripura Chief Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Biplab Kumar Deb is contesting from the Tripura West seat against Congress candidate Asish Kumar Saha and Brajalal Debnath of Bahujan Mukti Party (BMP) and Arun Kumar Bhaumik of Socialist Unity Centre Of India (Communist).

Tipra Motha’s Kriti Singh Deb Barma who is contesting as the BJP candidate from the Tripura East against INDIA bloc candidate Rajendra Reang and 7 others.

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