Amid scorching heat, Tripura East records 55 pc turnout till 1 p.m.

Agartala, April 26 (IANS) Braving the scorching heat, around 55 per cent of voters cast their votes till 1 p.m. in the Tripura East Lok Sabha constituency where polling is underway on Friday.

Election officials said that heavy security arrangements have been made for the Tripura East seat spread across six districts to foil any incidents of violence.

Around 1,050 voters in the tribal-dominated Raima Valley refused to cast their votes on Friday morning in protest against bad road conditions and poor water supply in their area. However, after being persuaded by senior officials, the angry voters agreed to cast their votes.

A large number of electorate residing outside the border-fenced area (inside the Indian territory near the zero line) on the India-Bangladesh border in Kailashahar exercised their franchise on Friday after the BSF personnel opened the gates on the border.

Meanwhile, the authorities on Friday suspended polling official Mousumi Ghosh, posted in the Surma Assembly segment, for making comments involving a top political leader of the country.

Around 14 lakh electorate, including 6.94 lakh females, are eligible to cast their votes to decide the fate of nine candidates in the politically crucial parliamentary seat.

Returning Officer Saju Vaheed A. said that over 16,000 Reang tribal voters, who were recently rehabilitated in different districts of Tripura after being displaced from the neighbouring Mizoram following ethnic troubles there, will cast their votes in the Tripura East Lok Sabha seat.

Though there are nine candidates in the fray, the main contest is expected between BJP's Kriti Devi Debbarman, the elder sister of Tipra Motha Party chief Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, and CPI-M's Rajendra Reang, a former MLA representing the opposition INDIA bloc.