Central forces to start arriving in Tripura from next week for polls

Agartala: Around 300 companies of central forces are expected to be deployed in Tripura for assembly polls due early 2023, and the first lot of the troops is likely to come to the northeastern state next week, officials said on Tuesday. The Election Commission has decided to start sending central paramilitary forces to Tripura from next week for Tripura Assembly elections, Chief Electoral Officer Gitte Kirankumar Dinkarrao told PTI.

“Central paramilitary forces will start going to states where elections are due early 2023 from the next week of this month. These forces will come from different places of the country through trains,” the CEO said.

Around 300 companies of central forces are "expected to be deployed in the northeastern state to ensure free and fair elections" even as there is “no specific security” threat, another official said.

“We have sought adequate forces for conducting elections peacefully, and the number will be finalised within two or three days”, he said.

Initially, 100 companies of CRPF, BSF, ITBP and CISF will be deployed in the state and later, 200 more will come for election duties, a senior police officer said.

In the 2018 Assembly elections, 300 companies of central forces were deployed in Tripura.

The CEO has held meetings with Inspector General GS Rao, who is the nodal security officer from the state police, and officials of transport and food and civil supplies departments for arranging logistics for the central forces.

The district magistrates (DMs) will arrange for all possible logistics to the central forces.

As part of the confidence building among people, the state police have already begun flag march in several areas of the state and intensified preventive measures to keep troublemakers at bay.

Apart from 10,000 police personnel, the northeastern state has nine battalions of Tripura State Rifles (TSR), and three brigades of this force are deployed outside the state.