Reported by: Mrinal Banik
Agartala: The Tripura State Election Commission has begun preparations for elections to urban local bodies in the state, with the tenure of the existing bodies scheduled to end on December 9, State Election Commissioner P K Chakravarti said on Thursday.
The first official-level meeting to discuss preparations for the polls was held in Agartala in the presence of DGP in-charge G S Rao, district magistrates, superintendents of police and officials of various departments, Chakravarti said.
The elections will cover 21 urban local bodies, including the Agartala Municipal Corporation, according to the State Election Commission.
“The tenure of the existing urban local bodies ends on December 9. Therefore, the State Election Commission has to conduct the elections before that,” Chakravarti said.
He said the meeting was aimed at discussing the functioning and preparedness of the election machinery to ensure that the urban local body elections were conducted in a smooth and peaceful manner.
Chakravarti said the Urban Development Department had already finalised the list of polling stations after completing the draft and final notification processes.
The process of preparing the electoral rolls has also begun, and the draft rolls have been published. The final publication of the electoral rolls is scheduled for October 15, he said.
The State Election Commission will subsequently undertake the process of declaring and conducting the elections, Chakravarti said.
Asked when the elections were likely to be held, he declined to disclose a date, saying it could not be announced before the formal election notification.
DGP in-charge G S Rao said the meeting was aimed at briefing officials on the constitutional provisions, laws, rules and instructions governing the conduct of elections.
He said the commission had existing instructions and circulars and that further directions would be issued as required. Since officials change over time, such meetings were also intended to refresh their understanding of the election process, Rao said.
“The purpose is to brush up the knowledge of the officers and discuss the milestones, including which work has to be completed on which date,” Rao said.
Rao said the police were also discussing the force requirements and deployment arrangements for the polls.
He said Tripura Police and Tripura State Rifles had sufficient personnel for the elections, while Central Armed Police Force companies already deployed in the state were also available. However, there was no provision for additional CAPF deployment from outside the state for urban local body elections, he said.
The police would therefore make arrangements using available local resources to ensure the peaceful conduct of the elections, Rao said.