AGARTALA, Aug 26 (TIWN): CPI-M candidate Kumud Debbarma made a clean sweep in the Simna-Tamakari ADC bi-election with a vote margin of 582 votes against IPFT candidate Mangal Debbarma. With a total of 9260 votes, CPI-M candidate won the seats to Simna-Tamakari bi-election. Whereas IPFT candidate Mangal Debbarma got only 8678 votes in the Simna-tamakari ADC election held on Tuesday. Counting for the Simna-Tamakari ADC bi-election began at Mohanpur swami Vivekananda College amidst tight security on Friday. Security is tightened across simna-Tamakari ADC area to ensure free and smooth counting of votes on Friday. According to the source, in first round of counting CPI-M candidate Kumud Debbarma was ahead in first round of vote counting with 6652 votes.

However, leaving stones unturned IPFT candidate Mangal  Debbarma was also running in the race with 5212 votes in the Simna-Tamakari ADC election. The by-poll to a seat under Tripura's lone tribal autonomous body was held on Tuesday with the ruling CPI-M making all efforts to take on a tribal party backed by the BJP and Trinamool Congress. In all, 22,481 voters -- over 90 per cent of them tribals – have cast their votes to elect their representative in western Tripura's Simna-Tamakari constituency under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autononmous District Council (TTAADC).

According to an official of the state election commission, women voters at 11,250 outnumbered the men (11,231) in the reserved seat.

Seven candidates have contested the by-election, which was necessitated following the death of Communist Party of India-Marxist member Ranabir Debbarma earlier this year.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Trinamool Congress supported the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) candidate Mangal Debbarma though the BJP had earlier put up candidate for the seat.

The main contest is between CPI-M's Kumudh Debbarma and IPFT's Mangal  Debbarma.

The IPFT, demanding a separate state carving out of Tripura by upgrading the TTAADC, became a major tribal party over the years and organised several agitations in Tripura and New Delhi in support of their demand.

The ruling Left Front, which has substantial base among the tribals and non-tribals, is now governing the TTAADC, which was formed by amending the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution in 1985 to boost socio-economic positions of the tribals, who constitute one third of Tripura's four million populations.