Tripura goes to polls, 45.86% voter turnout till 1 pm

As Tripura went to the polls Sunday,45.86% voter turnout recorded till 1.00 pm

Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, who is an MLA from Dhanpur constituency, also cast his ballot at a polling booth in Agartala

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to give the Left Front its stiffest challenge in 25 years.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to his Twitter this morning appealed people to exercise their franchise.

"I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Tripura, particularly young voters, to turnout in record numbers and cast their vote in the Assembly Elections," Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted early Sunday morning.

The BJP has recently been honing in on young voters, whom the party tends to be popular with. It is thought the party expects young voters to carry the day for them in the 2019 general elections as well.

The polling began at 7 am and will continue till 4 pm in evening, with 25.6 lakh voters deciding if Tripura stays with the Left Front or takes a right turn and responds to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for change.

Nearly 292 candidates are contesting for 59 of the state's 60 constituencies.

Voting for the Charilam Assembly constituency will be held on March 12 due to the death of the CPM candidate.

The BJP is contesting from 51 seats and has given nine seats to its ally, the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT).

Congress candidates have filed nominations from 59 constituencies, while 24 Trinamool Congress members are in the fray.

The results of the polling will be declared on March 3 along with Nagaland and Meghalaya.