Headlines       Vol. 2 Issue 3-4

May 22-June 6 , 1999

Elections for Panchayat to be held in Tripura The three-tier Panchayat election in Tripura will be held in the third and fourth week of July. State Panchayat Minister Subodh Das said that exact the date and other election schedules would be announced by the State Election commission in due course of time after completion of some formalities. The State Government and the State Election Commission were ready to hold the elections as the five year term of the Panchayat would be completed in August, Mr. Das said adding that the last Panchayat election was held in the State in August 1994. Mr. Das said following the recommendation of the Panchayats and creation of new blocks and districts, the number of seats in all three levels had increased. There were altogether 82 seats in the four Zilla Parishad, 299 seats in 23 Panchayat Samities and 5685 seats in Gram Panchayats all over the State, excluding the areas under Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), where 440 Village Councils had been functioning under the supervision of nominated committees. Election to the 440 village councils would be held separately.Mr. Das said that of the total seats in the three stages, one third seats would be reserved for the women. Meanwhile, the State Election Commission would publish the draft electoral rolls on May 20 and after due correction, the final voters' list would be announced on June 15. In the last Panchayat election, about 9.77 lakh voters were eligible to exercise their franchise. An all-party meeting was held recently to discuss the Panchayat election and its preparation. The meeting was convened by the State Election Commission. After the meeting, State Election Commissioner B. B. Senapati said representatives of the ruling CPI (M), RSP and opposition Janata Dal, Tripura Upajati Yuba Samiti (TUJS) and BJP attended the meeting. The commission would consider the political parties' views before finalising the election schedule, Mr. Senapati stated saying the election schedule would be prepared and announced after the final publication of the electoral rolls on June 15. Meanwhile, State Congress general secretary Ratan Lal Nath has requested the Election Commission to hold the Panchayat election along with the Lok Sabha polls.Mr. Nath said if the Panchayat and Lok Sabha polls were held separately, developmental works would be hampered.

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