''Tripura West sees voter turnout of 34.60% by 11 am''

The Tripura West Lok Sabha constituency recorded a voter turnout of 34.60 per cent till 11 am on Friday, amid allegations of irregularities.In the by-election to the Ramnagar assembly seat, which was being held simultaneously, a turnout of 27.62 per cent was recorded till 11 am.State Congress president Ashish Kumar Saha, who is also the partys candidate in the Tripura West seat, alleged large-scale rigging in several places.The election has turned into a farce with BJP-backed goons attacking polling agents of the opposition.

The Tripura West Lok Sabha constituency recorded a voter turnout of 34.60 per cent till 11 am on Friday, amid allegations of irregularities.

In the by-election to the Ramnagar assembly seat, which was being held simultaneously, a turnout of 27.62 per cent was recorded till 11 am.

State Congress president Ashish Kumar Saha, who is also the party's candidate in the Tripura West seat, alleged large-scale ''rigging'' in several places.

''The election has turned into a farce with BJP-backed goons attacking polling agents of the opposition. We are receiving reports of attacks on our polling agents from different places, including Udaipur, Belonia and Sonamura. The situation is worst in the Ramnagar assembly seat,'' he alleged.

Congress-backed CPI(M) candidate in Ramnagar Ratan Das alleged ''goons'' drove out his agents from most of the booths.

''They started threatening the agents since last night. We are unhappy with the role of the Election Commission,'' he said.

Chief Minister Manik Saha said the EC has assured that voting would be held in a free, fair, and peaceful manner.

On the opposition's allegation of rigging, he said, ''If anything such thing happens, the Election Commission will take steps. Rigging or violence is not supposed to take place during the elections.'' He said the BJP has been working for the welfare of all sections of society.

''The BJP government has been working relentlessly for the people. I appeal to the voters to come out in large numbers and exercise their democratic right by joining the festival of democracy,'' he told the press after casting his vote at the MTB Girls' School.

Altogether 14.61 lakh people are eligible to vote in this phase of Lok Sabha polls in Tripura.

Congress has pitted Saha against BJP's Biplab Kumar Deb, the former CM, in the Tripura West seat.

In the Ramnagar assembly constituency, where 54,669 voters are eligible to vote, BJP has fielded Agartala Mayor Dipak Majumder against CPI(M)'s Das.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)