Leaders of five Left parties in Tripura on Friday met Acting Director General of Police (DGP) G.S. Rao on Friday and submitted a six-point memorandum demanding the deployment of central paramilitary forces for the upcoming municipal and urban local body elections to ensure free, fair and peaceful polling.
The delegation represented the CPI(M), CPI, RSP, All India Forward Bloc and CPI(ML) Liberation. It was led by Tripura Left Front Committee convenor Manik Dey. Other members included RSP state secretary Deepak Deb, CPI leader Milan Baidya, Forward Bloc leader Raghunath Sarkar and CPI(ML) Liberation leader Partha Karmakar.
The memorandum called for measures to ensure that the genuine will of the electorate is reflected in the results of the upcoming elections to 21 urban local bodies across the state.
The six demands include ensuring uninterrupted and unhindered movement of candidates from all political parties, particularly opposition parties, throughout the nomination-filing period, with central forces deployed along all connecting roads leading to the offices of returning officers.
The Left parties also demanded the deployment of central forces at every polling station, along with route marches and patrolling in municipal areas beginning seven days before polling as part of area-domination exercises.
Other demands include allocating public meeting venues to all contesting parties on a strict first-come, first-served basis; providing security to polling agents who seek protection while travelling to polling stations and returning after the completion of voting; consulting opposition parties before identifying sensitive polling stations and implementing appropriate security measures at those locations.
The memorandum further urged the police to monitor hotels, guest houses and community halls during the post-campaign silence period to prevent the gathering of unusually large numbers of people, acknowledging the difficulty of completely removing all outsiders from municipal election areas.
In their memorandum, the five Left parties expressed concern over what they described as a deteriorating law-and-order situation in the state and alleged that political violence against opposition parties had taken place with the support of the ruling party.
They claimed that, during the past eight-and-a-half years, several Left party subdivisional offices could not be opened, while a number of offices belonging to the Left and other political parties had been attacked and vandalised repeatedly. They alleged that no one had been brought to justice in these cases because the accused were known to be supporters of the ruling party.
Referring to the 2021 municipal elections, the Left parties alleged that BJP-backed miscreants had physically obstructed opposition candidates from filing nominations in an attempt to secure uncontested victories. They claimed that roads leading to returning officers’ offices were blocked and that nomination papers of prospective opposition candidates were snatched and torn at some locations.
According to the memorandum, the BJP won all seats uncontested in the Ranirbazar, Jirania, Mohanpur, Bishalgarh and Santirbazar municipal bodies. The Left parties also alleged that opposition polling agents were prevented from reaching polling stations or forcibly removed from them in several places.
They further claimed that similar incidents occurred during the recently concluded village committee elections. Alleged ruling-party supporters reportedly obstructed opposition candidates from filing nominations in the Hejamara, Belbari, Jirania and Jampuijala blocks, as well as parts of Teliamura block, resulting in uncontested victories for ruling-alliance parties in all seats in those areas.
The memorandum also alleged that opposition counting agents were assaulted and driven out of counting centres in the Salema, Tulashikhar and Kathalia blocks, after which irregularities were committed inside the counting halls.
Citing these alleged incidents, the five Left parties urged the police administration to ensure a level playing field for all political stakeholders in the upcoming municipal elections.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Left Front convenor Manik Dey said the Acting DGP had indicated during the discussion that he would seek central forces for the municipal elections.
According to Dey, the Acting DGP stated that the forces would be deployed if the Central Government provided them.
The Left parties said they had approached the police leadership with the objective of ensuring that the upcoming elections to the state’s 21 urban local bodies are conducted in a free, fair and peaceful atmosphere.