PM Modi urged the youth to exercise their franchise. (File photo)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to the people in Tripura to vote in "record numbers and strengthen the festival of democracy" as the northeastern state went to the polls today. In a tweet, PM Modi urged the young voters to exercise their franchise.
The BJP is locked in a triangular contest this year, with the Congress-CPM fighting in alliance and the Trinamool Congress seeking expand its footprint in the Northeast state. In case of a hung house, new party Tipra Motha holds all the cards.
Polling kicked off at 7 am and will continue till 4 pm.
About 28.14 lakh people are eligible to vote in Tripura in this year's polls of which 14,15,233 are men, 13,99,289 are women and 62 belong to the third gender.
The polls will see 94,815 voters in the age group of 18-19 years and 6,21,505 in the age group of 22-29 years. The highest number of voters are in the 40-59 age group, at 9,81,089, according to Election Commission.
259 candidates are contesting for 60 Assembly seats.