Tripura civic polls: no VVPAT paper trail, 25 more CAPF companies sought

Tripura's 21 urban local bodies will vote on November 27 on electronic voting machines that print no paper slip, and the state has asked the Centre for 25 more companies of central forces to guard the polls.

State Election Commission (SEC) Secretary Anurag Sen told reporters in Agartala on Sunday, November 15, that the police headquarters had requisitioned the extra Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) companies. The SEC has forwarded the request to the state Home Department, which will send it to the Union Home Ministry. Fourteen CAPF companies are already in the state, Northeast Live reported.

Sen also said the decision not to use Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units was final. CCTV at booths is still undecided.

Why there is no paper trail

A VVPAT unit prints a slip showing the symbol a voter chose; the slips can later be counted to check the machine's tally.

Sen's explanation, first given on November 12 and repeated on Sunday, is technical. VVPAT units work only with the current machines used by the Election Commission of India (ECI) for Lok Sabha and Assembly polls. State election commissions run local body polls on older machines that the ECI no longer uses for those elections. Tripura's Bharat Electronics-made machines cannot take a VVPAT unit, The Sentinel reported. Sen said the restriction comes from a blanket instruction that applies to every state election commission, not to Tripura alone.

The paper trail has a North East history: India first used VVPAT in September 2013 at the Noksen Assembly by-election in Nagaland, then in 10 of Mizoram's 40 seats that year, according to Wikipedia. Since 2019 it has covered every Lok Sabha seat.

What the CPI(M) wants

The CPI(M) has made the missing paper trail a campaign issue. State secretary Jitendra Choudhury wrote to the State Election Commissioner on November 12 asking the commission to reconsider, India Today NE reported. He said parties were not consulted, cited alleged mismatches during machine commissioning, and sought an all-party meeting.

He argued that most parties would prefer paper ballots to machines without a paper trail, Tripurainfo reported. Sen's Sunday remarks point to no change.

The numbers on November 27

The SEC's schedule, announced on October 30, covers 21 urban bodies including the Agartala Municipal Corporation: 345 seats, 783 polling stations and 6,29,903 voters, 3,21,743 of them women, according to India Today NE. Polling runs 7 am to 4 pm; counting was scheduled for December 2.

The BJP won 77 seats unopposed in five bodies: Mohanpur, Kamalpur, Jirania, Ranirbazar and Santirbazar. That leaves 810 candidates for 268 seats, The Hindu reported. It is a three-way fight between the BJP-led NDA, CPI(M) and Congress.

Next come machine commissioning on November 18-20 and early voting for election-duty staff such as polling officers and drivers on November 21-22; they must contact their returning officer at least three days ahead. The SEC has also set size limits for flags and banners.

Why central forces matter in Tripura

The demand for 25 more companies follows a nomination period full of complaints. The Left Front had sought central forces after alleging that its nominees were blocked. The CPI(M) later alleged forced withdrawals at Ambassa, which the SEC disputes. The campaign has also seen the row over BJP MLA Tafajjal Hossain's remarks about tribal people, which the CPI(M) has taken to the SEC.

The last civic polls, in November 2021, also brought violence complaints and Supreme Court petitions. In that election the BJP won 329 of 334 seats, including all 51 in Agartala, after 112 seats went uncontested, The Hindu reported. During that campaign the Supreme Court told the Centre to send more central forces.

NEInsider will update this story when the Union Home Ministry decides on the 25 companies.