POLLING to the Agartala municipal corporation and 18 other urban local bodies elections including 13 municipal councils and five nagar panchayats and bye elections to 10 seats of the three-tier panchayats passed off peacefully on December 9. From the early hours of the day itself, people started queuing up in front of the polling stations. Everywhere there was festive mood as women, as usual, came to vote in large numbers. The final figures are yet to be confirmed, but according to primary estimates, more than 85 percent casting was recorded. Out of the 310 seats of the urban local bodies, the Left Front had won unopposed in 19 including all the 11 wards of Jirania nagar panchayat. In total, 886 candidates including 429 women were in fray. No untoward incident was reported from any part of the state; the polling went off very peacefully. Chief Minister Manik Sarkar after casting his vote expressed hope that the results will be good for the Left. He said the atmosphere of intolerance being created in the country after Modi government came to power will not be tolerated by the people of the state where a vibrant democracy exists. He also expressed confidence that the victory of the Left Front in the municipal elections will definitely have a positive impact on the Left and democratic movement all over the country. The Left Front Committee, Tripura in a statement congratulated the people, polling personnel and the security staff including police and para military forces for maintaining the legacy of peaceful polling in the state. The opposition parties however tried to malign the Left Front levelling baseless allegations of terror to cover up their political alienation. A section of the electronic media too joined hands with them. The Left Front Committee appealed to all to maintain peaceful atmosphere everywhere on December 12, the date scheduled for counting.