ECI refutes CPM’s complaint, says voting free and fair

Agartala, Apr 23, 2024, By Our Correspondent

 The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday said the election to Tripura West Lok Sabha constituency and byelection to Ramnagar Assembly seat held on April 19, was ‘free and fair’.The ECI statement came after CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury lodged complaint about mismatch of polled votes and media reports.“Regarding the complaint received from CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chaudhry on April 22 about mismatch of polled votes and the newspaper item published in Daily Desher Katha on April 20, an enquiry was done by AROs of the concerned Assembly segments. The issue was checked by the ECI general observer. The high polling percentage was reported because of the proximity  of polling stations to the ARO headquarters. Most of the officers on election duty prefer to cast their votes at nearby polling station this swelled the polled votes”, the RO said.“There was no irregularity in the voting process. Therefore, election to Tripura West Lok Sabha constituency and byelection to Ramnagar Assembly seat held on April 19, was ‘free and fair’”, he said.