Tripura's Village Committee Elections: Voting Underway Amid Heightened Security Arrangements

: Voting will take place on Monday for 2,950 seats in 587 Village Committees under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) , with polling scheduled across 44 blocks amid heightened security arrangements. The elections are being held nearly a decade after the previous Village Committee polls. The State Election Commission (SEC) has completed preparations, with around 6.65 lakh voters eligible to cast their ballots at 1,095 polling stations where contests are being held. Polling will begin at 7 am, with voters casting their ballots using paper ballots. Around 7,300 polling personnel have been assigned election duties, while the SEC has deployed 74 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) for security. Security personnel have been conducting area domination exercises and patrolling ahead of polling. On Sunday, polling teams began travelling to their assigned stations with ballot boxes and ballot papers under security cover. Sector officers have been tasked with overseeing the movement of election personnel and ensuring the safe transportation of election materials. The elections cover a total of 4,597 seats across 587 Village Committees. A significant number of seats have already been settled without a contest following the withdrawal of nominations. Earlier SEC figures indicated that 1,630 seats had gone uncontested, with Tipra Motha candidates winning 1,548 and BJP candidates securing 82. However, figures reported by PTI on September 26 put the number of seats won uncontested by BJP and Tipra Motha candidates at 1,644, leaving 2,950 seats to be contested on Monday. The polls are also significant for Tripura’s ruling alliance. The BJP and Tipra Motha , which contested the 2026 TTAADC general elections separately, are contesting the Village Committee elections as allies. The IPFT is also contesting as part of the NDA, while the CPI(M) and Congress are contesting separately. The election campaign concluded at 4 pm on Saturday. The SEC said no major untoward incident was reported during the campaign period. For the post-poll process, the SEC has established 44 strong rooms and 44 counting halls, corresponding to the 44 blocks. Vote counting is scheduled for October 5. In Ambassa, polling personnel were dispatched to their designated stations on Sunday morning under security arrangements. According to the local administration, 41 polling stations have been set up under the Ambassa RD Block.