The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and Congress, on Wednesday, urged the Supreme Court to order fresh polls in Tripura West Lok Sabha seat, alleging large scale rigging and electoral malpractices.

The CPI-M had earlier demanded re-poll in the entire Tripura West Lok Sabha constituency complaining of various irregularities in the April 11 polling. Following the demand, the Election Commission had ordered re-poll in only 168 of the total 1,679 polling stations in the constituency as electoral malpractices were detected during the first round of voting.

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According to the CPI-M politburo, there was widespread rigging and prevention of voters from exercising their franchise by the ruling BJP during polling on April 11. Nothing short of a re-poll for the entire Tripura West parliamentary constituency will serve the purpose of a free and fair poll and protecting the rights of the voters, the party said.

Tripura West Lok Sabha constituency has already gone to the polls twice.

Sankar Prasad Datta, the CPI-M sitting Lok Sabha MP and party candidate said that their lawyers, on the advice of the Supreme Court vacation bench, filed a writ petition in the Tripura High Court on Wednesday.

“Accordingly the writ petition was filed in the Tripura High Court, which is yet to give a date of hearing for the case,” said Datta while talking to reporters at Agartala.

Tripura Pradesh Congress Vice-President and senior lawyer Pijush Kanti Biswas told IANS at Agartala that the writ petition, which was filed in the SC on Tuesday, sought fresh polling in 433 of the 1,679 polling stations.

State Congress President Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarman said that despite the Returning Officer to the Tripura West seat in his report to the Election Commission (EC) had admitted that the election process was vitiated in 433 booths, re-polling was held in only 168 stations.

Tripura, which went to polls in the first phase on April 11 of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, had reported the highest voting percentage at 81.8 per cent, as informed by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

(With IANS inputs)