In a significant move by the Election Commission, about 2,000 Tripura State Rifles (TSR) personnel deployed in Delhi and Chhattisgarh will be able to exercise their franchise as “service voters” for the state’s two Lok Sabha seats and an Assembly by-election. This marks the first instance where TSR troopers posted outside the state have been granted the opportunity to cast their votes as Service Voters.
Official sources revealed that two TSR battalions, comprising approximately 2,000 personnel, including officers, have been stationed in Delhi under the Delhi Police since 2019, and in South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) in Chhattisgarh since 2022. Currently, the TSR boasts 14 battalions, with one battalion also providing security to the ONGC drilling sites in the state.
Additional Chief Electoral Officer S. Bandopadhyay, in a letter to the state’s Leader of Opposition Jitendra Choudhury, confirmed that the matter of enrolling TSR personnel deployed outside the state as service voters was taken up with the Election Commission. Bandopadhyay stated, “The ECI accordingly confirmed their eligibility for enrolment as service electors and advised us to take the initiative for their enrolment.” He further added that all such TSR personnel are being facilitated to be enrolled as service voters, with a report indicating action taken in this regard received from the State Police Nodal Officer.
It’s noteworthy that TSR personnel posted outside the state were unable to cast their votes in last year’s Assembly elections as they were not treated as service voters at that time.
Choudhury, who is also the CPI-M state Secretary, had earlier addressed a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, highlighting that 2,000 jawans of two TSR battalions deployed in Delhi and Chattisgarh belong to Tripura and their names have been enrolled in the updated electoral rolls. He emphasized the importance of ensuring their voting rights, advocating for postal ballot facilities or arranging designated polling centers in their respective places of postings in both Delhi and Chhattisgarh.
