Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Agartala: Tripura is ready to vote. The State Election Commission finished preparations for the Village Committee polls set for September 28. About 7,300 polling personnel are now deployed to manage the process across 44 blocks. Voters will cast ballots at 1,095 active polling stations. SEC Secretary Anurag Sen confirmed these stations were selected from an initial list of 1,550. Approximately 6.65 lakh people hold the right to vote in this round.
Security remains the top priority. The state has brought in 74 companies of Central Armed Police Forces to keep the peace. These units are currently running area domination and patrols. Sector officers have clear orders to protect ballot boxes and staff throughout the transit process. Sen stated: "Polling personnel would begin moving to their designated polling stations from the morning of September 27 under security arrangements."
Staff will seal ballot boxes once the voting ends on September 28. They must then move all materials to designated receiving centers. Officials have prepared 44 strong rooms and 44 counting halls, ensuring each block has its own dedicated space.
Elections for Urban Local Bodies are also moving forward. The commission has already pinned down 783 polling stations for that process. Officials will publish the draft electoral roll on October 1, 2026. Citizens have until October 8 to file claims or objections. The final roll hits the public on October 15.
Updated at 27th September 2026 at 2:00am
The month-long campaign trail went quiet at 4 p.m. Saturday. Officials reported no major incidents during the run-up to the election. While the state is relying on 74 companies of Central Armed Police Forces, the total security blanket covers more than 15,000 personnel. That force includes nearly 10,000 officers from the Tripura State Rifles and local police assigned to keep the eight districts secure.
These village committee elections mark the first time these seats have been contested in a decade. Voters will decide on 2,954 seats spread across 44 blocks. Out of 4,597 total seats, 1,638 were already decided unopposed. Tipra Motha Party candidates claimed 1,557 of those seats, while the BJP took 81. Following the withdrawal of 1,069 nominations, 9,820 candidates remain in the race.
Updated at 27th September 2026 at 9:50pm
Voters will use four distinct colors of ballot papers: white, light pink, light green, and light blue. These color codes aim to help staff and voters distinguish between different seat categories on the ballot.
While the state is a patchwork of political alliances, this round sees the BJP and Tipra Motha running as partners under the NDA banner. Meanwhile, the CPI(M) and Congress are fighting this battle from separate corners. Three seats will remain vacant as no nominations were filed for them.
Polls open at 7 a.m. Monday. Counting is set to follow on October 5.
Updated at 28th September 2026 at 10:30am
The commission confirmed that 587 Village Committees will hold elections. While previous reports placed the candidate pool at 9,820, final verification confirms 8,176 candidates are actually on the ballot. Election officials mobilized 7,458 personnel organized into 1,243 teams to manage the logistics at the booth level.
These elections mark the first return to grassroots governance since 2016. Previous efforts to hold the vote were stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic and legal gridlock. The tenure for the previous committees expired in March 2021. For this cycle, the electoral roll tracks over 9.61 lakh registered voters across the region, though only the 6.65 lakh citizens in contested wards will cast ballots.
Security muscle includes 8,977 local police and Tripura State Rifles personnel working alongside the CAPF. Over 1,500 senior officers will roam the districts to keep watch on sensitive stations. Candidates are running on platforms centered on tribal rights, local development, and the specific implementation of the Tiprasa Accord.
Updated at 28th September 2026 at 1:49pm
Voting started at 7 a.m. Monday at all 1,095 polling booths. Long queues formed early as voters, some in traditional attire, showed up to cast ballots in the Sixth Schedule areas. The process is the first major test for the TTAADC in nearly a decade.
Not everyone says the day is going smoothly. Former TTAADC Chief Executive Member and CPI(M) leader Radha Charan Debbarma accused ruling factions of blocking his party from the ballot. Debbarma claims agents were forcibly ejected from polling stations in Kamalpur and the Mandai block. He alleged the party struggled to field candidates in 12 of 13 West Tripura blocks but vowed they have secured spots in more than half the races.
Despite the scuffles, security remains locked down. West Tripura Superintendent of Police Namit Pathak confirmed that booths in his district are holding steady with no major violence reported on the ground. The State Election Commission is monitoring the situation, as election officials and police look to maintain order through the end of the day.
Updated at 28th September 2026 at 6:00pm
By Monday afternoon, SEC Secretary Anurag Sen reported a 60 percent voter turnout across the tribal areas. While most polling stations operated smoothly, the commission reported sporadic connectivity troubles in pockets like Silachari and Karbook, though telephone lines kept officials in the loop.
Chief Minister Manik Saha hit the airwaves Monday, urging voters to cast their ballots without fear or pressure. Saha stressed that citizens should choose their representatives independently to ensure local development issues are handled by those who truly represent them. Despite the political friction, the SEC confirmed that no major violence marred the morning voting, with long queues persisting at booths well into the afternoon.
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