The Election Commission on Friday ordered re-polling in one booth each in six Assembly constituencies in Tripura, PTI reported. The Assembly elections were held on February 18 and the results will be declared on March 3.

The poll monitor ordered re-polling in one booth each in Sonamura, Teliamura, Sabroom, Ampinagar, Kadamtala-Kurti and Dhanpur Assembly constituencies on February 26. Dhanpur is Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar’s constituency.

The order drew a sharp reaction from the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist), which blamed the state election department for “failing to conduct a proper election and criminal negligence”. Tripura CPI(M) Secretary Bijan Dhar threatened to act against such “negligence” through “street movements”.

“It is now well known how the voters suffered due to an inordinate delay, till midnight, to cast their ballots,” Dhar said. “This happened because of the incompetence and apathy of the election department officials.” He questioned how the poll monitor had ordered re-polling when no political party asked for it.

Dhar also claimed that the election commission had ordered re-polling only in constituencies which the CPI(M) was likely to win.

State Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Ashok Sinha welcomed the election commission’s decision to hold re-polling, claiming that some electronic voting machines had malfunctioned.