The turnout in the single-phase Tripura Assembly polls held on Thursday could cross the 2018 voting percentage going by the updated figures released on Friday.
According to the office of the state chief electoral officer, the state recorded a turnout of 87.63 per cent by the time polling ended around 8pm.
The updated polling percentage was just 1.75 per cent less than what was attained in the 2018 state polls won by the BJP-IPFT combine.
“If we factor in postal and service ballots, there could be an addition of a minimum of 2 per cent votes, which may see the overall percentage cross 89.38 attained in 2018. Polling was by and large peaceful barring stray incidents and there has been no order of any repolling till now,” an election official said.
Around 81.10 per cent of the 28,145,84 voters had cast their vote by 4pm on Friday, the official closing time for voting to end, but long queues of enthusiastic voters were witnessed in around 125 polling stations across the state.
The voting figures showed 80 per cent or more polling in 59 of the 60 constituencies despite stray law-and-order incidents.
Thirteen of the constituencies saw over 90 per cent polling.
The figures also showed more female voters (89.17 per cent) exercising their franchise compared with male voters (86.12 per cent).
Election officials and political parties said high turnout in Tripura was nothing new given the awareness among the voters and mobilisation by parties, starting from 2003 (78.71 per cent), 2008 (91.22 per cent), 2013 (91.82 per cent) and 2018 (89.38 per cent). The ruling BJP-IPFT, the Opposition Congress-Left Front combine and Tipra Motha, a regional party formed in 2021, were confident of winning comfortably.
However, in the state polls since 2003, only once, in 2018, did the Opposition BJP-IPFT overthrow the ruling Left Front government despite the high turnout.
The post-poll situation in the state was by and large peaceful on Saturday, said a police officer, barring stray incidents of stone-pelting and physical assault, especially from Sepahijala district.
The BJP-IPFT and the Left Front-Congress combines are contesting all 60 seats while the Tipra Motha, which has emerged as a key player, in 42 seats. Counting will take place on March 2.