We will win 31 seats: Tipra Motha Chief Pradyot Deb Barman

Agartala (Tripura) [India], February 16 : Tipra Motha chief Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barman on Thursday exuded confidence that his fledgeling front will leave a mark in the ongoing Tripura Assembly elections.
Speaking to ANI after casting his vote on Thursday, Dev Barman claimed that his front will win as many as 31 seats in the state polls.
"Our demand is for people to be given their constitutional rights. Only once our demands are met will we talk about a CM face. I can say that we are winning 31 seats."
"I think voter turnout will be over 90 per cent and the people of Tripura will give us a chance to serve them. We received information of violence in Dhanpur and Mohanpur orchestrated by the ruling party," he said.
"We have complained about the violence in Dhanpur and Mohanpur and also about EVM malfunction in some seats. We want the entire voting process to be over before sundown," the Tipra chief said.
Tripura, meanwhile, recorded a voter turnout of over 32.06 per cent till 11 am in the ongoing polling for 60 Assembly seats, the Election Commission (EC) informed on Thursday.
The state recorded a 13.69 per cent voter turnout till 9 am. Polling started at 7 am and will continue till 4 pm.
According to the latest data shared by the Election Commission, Dhalai recorded the highest turnout at 33.92 per cent, Gomati saw 30.57 per cent, Khowai at 30.88 per cent, North Tripura was logged at 29.48 per cent, Sepahijala at 31.72 per cent, South Tripura saw 33.61 per cent, Unakoti saw 31.85 per cent and West Tripura at 33.18 per cent.
The fate of the 259 candidates will be sealed in the ongoing polls for 60 Assembly seats.
The polls this year will see a triangular contest, with the Congress-CPM fighting in alliance and the Trinamool Congress also fielding candidates in several seats. The Tipra Motha, a coalition of regional outfits, is a dark horse in the ongoing election and could emerge as the kingmaker in the event of a hung Assembly.
The BJP has declared candidates for 55 Assembly seats, leaving the remaining five seats for its ally, the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT).
The Left-Congress alliance declared candidates for all 60 seats.
According to Election Commission, there are over 28.14 lakh registered voters this year of which 14,15,233 are men, 13,99,289 are women and 62 belong to the third gender.
Polling is underway in a total of 3,337 polling stations.
Adequate security arrangements have been made for the polls, with 97 all-women police stations. As many as 94,815 voters are in the age group of 18-19 years while 6,21,505 belong in 22-29 age group. The highest number of voters is in the 40-59 age group, at 9,81,089.
A total of 259 candidates across parties are fray for the ongoing Assembly polls.
Tripura is the first state to go to the polls this year while polling for Nagaland and Meghalaya assemblies will be held on February 27.
Five more states will go to polls this year, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.