The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:
In the by-elections to two Assembly constituencies in Tripura – Boxanagar and Dhanpur – on September 5, there was total rigging under the direct supervision of the BJP state government. An extraordinary situation of terror was created. Polling agents of the CPI(M) were physically assaulted and prevented from discharging their duties. Only 16 CPI(M) polling agents in Boxanagar and 19 in Dhanpur could manage to enter the polling booths. But they were soon physically terrorized, intimidated and driven out.
These by-elections are a farce of the democratic process.
The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) calls upon the Election Commission to countermand these elections and arrange for a fresh poll with strictest security measures. All the officers, who have been party to such a brazen violation of the Election Commission’s mandate to conduct `free and fair polls’, must not be deployed during the fresh elections. Those responsible for creating such terror must be identified and punished.